#so like... sure i guess? charge stadium prices?

[keirametzbrassknuckles]

Did Fontaines DC explode overnight or something? I saw them two years ago and tickets were £20 and now they're asking $145. They are a band I will pay $145 to see but christ alive they Should Not Be

[gaykey]

why are the venues so small that taemin's going to im so confused

yeah i mean, i'm pissed for all of us (US & EUR fans). because, it feels like unfair treatment in comparison to other places, but, as for the WHY...

people are saying that it's due to bpm not having any proof that taemin COULD sell out bigger venues. we know of course, but, shinee have never had many proper shows outside of asia (besides la, and they got a 17k venue sooooo) thanks to sm dropping the ball.

my loooovely mutual sasha sent me a reddit link, where people are discussing the whys.

they mention that taemin started in small venues in japan, and that some of his asian dates didn't fully sell out.

it's hard i guess, from a fan perspective to get. we're not the ones crunching big numbers and looking at overall stats and long-term projections.

they're testing the waters - as everyone's been saying.

on the plus side, to those who get tickets, this could be the last time we get to see taemin in such an intimate venue. and to those that's didn't, the success of these ticket sales for sure means more taemin and probably shinee, in the future.

this is not to say that i'm still incredinly annoyed at just how small these venues are - especially when smaller artists have had bigger, and especially when these smaller venues are charging stadium prices.

[judefan822-blog]

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[themurphyzone]

Rosieverse Oneshot: Guardian

Summary: Tino is just a simple guy who happens to play a villain in a TV show. Recently, the entire studio has become enamored by a little orphan named Rosie with a talent in voice-acting. Well, everyone except lead actor Jim Starling. 

But everyone has their beef with Starling, so it’s really no big deal. 

Or is it?

Jim Starling wasn’t happy. And when wasn’t Jim Starling happy, he was determined to make everyone else’s lives as miserable as possible. He stood on the long conference table, shouting a plan about a meet-and-greet that would surely boost his fading popularity. 

“Just picture it!” Starling exclaimed. “Look, the Fearsome Four can open the event. Five minutes signing autographs for them and no more! And then I make a fashionably late entrance dressed as Darkwing Duck! Maybe about...fifteen minutes or so after the meet-and-greet starts, we can work out the details later. But the point is, I’m there, the fans will adore yours truly, and Darkwing Duck’s ratings go through the roof! What do you think?” 

Someone coughed, but the room was otherwise full of crickets. 

Tino glanced at the lovely bonsai tree on the windowsill, half-expecting an actual cricket to jump in and chirp merrily while ruining the tiny pink leaves. Next to him, Dan sketched a rough schematic of a toaster, humming to himself and not paying attention to the meeting. Jack flipped through a report on Darkwing Duck ratings and merchandise sales, scanning through the business jargon and statistics with practiced ease. 

In Tino’s opinion, Michael was lucky he got the babysitting job. Rosie was a sweet kid and a delight to be around. Much better than listening to an egotistical celebrity prattle on about boosting his public image. 

Speaking of which...

Tino glanced at the clock. 

Almost 4:00 pm, he realized. And it was his day to drive Rosie back to the orphanage too. They needed to get going before the Audubon Bay Bridge got clogged with rush hour traffic. 

Silently, Tino put his hand up, unwilling to interrupt the argument between Starling and the director. 

“Our budget’s already been slashed, and now you want us to spend more money to fuel your ego?” 

“Just pay for the venue! The special events center maybe. I hear the Duckburg Stadium is nice this time of year too,” Starling continued to suggest expensive locations that no sane person at the studio would ever consider. “Tell ‘em to bring their own snacks though. And you could always charge some good money for an autograph, maybe a little more for a photoshoot. That oughta make up your price.” 

“This town ain’t cheap, Starling!” the director snarled. “Do you realize how much McDuck charges for the use of his locations? In case you haven’t noticed, money doesn’t grow on trees!” 

“You’re as cheap as the network!” Starling scoffed. “Sabotaging a fine art for the sake of money!” 

“I’m. Being. Realistic,” the director gritted his teeth. 

Starling stomped over to the director’s chair. Their beaks were inches away as they stared each other down, willing their opponent to cave in. 

Before it could devolve into an insult-fest, Jack cleared his throat. Immediately, everyone turned their attention to him. Even Starling recognized that it was better to listen when Jack had something to say. 

“It’s Tino’s day to drive Rosie back to the orphanage,” Jack said. “He needs to leave now.” 

Tino shot Jack a grateful look, and the corners of the dog’s mouth twitched upwards in response. 

“Wait, that brat lives in an orphanage?” Starling blinked, his beak dropping open in surprise. 

Clearly, Starling had been living under a rock. Rosie’s orphan status was common knowledge with everyone in the studio. 

At least, Tino assumed it was. 

“Not everything revolves around your universe-sized ego, dim bulb,” one of the editors muttered. 

“Don’t insult actual dim bulbs,” Dan scolded. Then his expression softened as he turned to Tino. “And say hi to Rosie for me, okay?”

“Same here,” Jack agreed. “You should get going. I’ll fill you in later, but somehow I doubt there’ll be anything worth mentioning.” 

Since nobody accomplished anything in meetings when Starling was involved, Tino knew he wouldn’t be missing anything. 

Tino hurried out of the conference room. He felt Starling’s eyes bore into his back, but he brushed it off. 

He was the only person leaving early. It was perfectly natural that everyone’s attention would be drawn to him. 

It made his skin crawl. He just wasn’t one for the spotlight. 

                                              --------------------------------

“You’ll get there! Five bounces is pretty good for a beginner!” Michael exclaimed as he showed off a rather complicated yo-yo trick that involved a lot of twirling and loops. 

Rosie smiled, a pink yo-yo dangling from a string on her finger. “Thank you, Mr. Michael,” she said formally. “Would you mind teaching me your walk the dog trick in the future?” 

Michael grinned. “No problemo! Just keep practicing with that yo-yo. I’ve got plenty more.” 

“Oh no, I couldn’t!” Rosie’s eyes widened as she tried to give the yo-yo back. “It’s your toy, sir.” 

Michael shook his head, flipping into a handstand before cartwheeling away from Rosie. “Nope! No takebacks! It’s the highest law in the land!” he giggled. He caught sight of Tino and slumped to the ground, reminding Tino of a child who begged their parents for ten more minutes on the playground. “Looks like playtime’s over, kiddo.” 

“Hello, Mr. Tino!” Rosie exclaimed. “How was your meeting?” 

She hugged him enthusiastically, tiny hands squeezing his waistline and nearly knocking him off-balance. 

“Frankly, a bit boring,” Tino admitted once he adjusted his footing. “At least you and Michael are having fun.” 

Michael rolled his eyes. “What demands did the great and almighty Dumbwing make this time?” 

“Please don’t call name-call in front of Rosie,” Tino said as he ruffled Rosie’s flaming red curls. “She’s an impressionable child.”

“Fine, I’ll ask Jack later,” Michael said with a huff. His eyes flicked to Rosie, and his entire expression softened. “I get a goodbye hug too, right?” 

Rosie immediately latched onto Michael. “Don’t worry!” she chirped. “You get a goodbye hug too!” 

Michael laughed and patted her back. “I’ll be sure to pass your goodbye hugs onto Dan and Jack, okay?” 

“And Mr. Starling too!” Rosie added. 

Michael stiffened, though Rosie didn’t seem to notice. “Uh, sure. Him too.” 

Absolutely not, Michael mouthed at Tino. 

Starling loathed any form of prolonged physical contact. But Tino held his tongue, knowing he would confuse himself if he tried explaining that to a six-year-old.  

                                          --------------------------------

Much to Tino’s chagrin, they didn’t beat the rush hour traffic on the bridge. He turned the radio to a kid-friendly station and hoped the orphanage director would forgive him for being late. 

Caution was highly advised when dealing with St. Canard drivers. Really, Duckburg’s sister city was anything but saintly. 

Rosie didn’t mind though. She folded her hands in her lap, sitting like a dainty little princess upon a flower-patterned booster seat. 

“The view is pretty, Mr. Tino,” Rosie said. 

“It is,” Tino said, though he believed Audubon Bay was more dangerous than beautiful. There was a reason why crime shows loved using this body of water as a background. 

“It looks like the set of Darkwing Duck,” Rosie remarked.

“The main set was modeled off this area,” Tino said, pointing to a tower just above the toll gate. “That’s Darkwing’s lair over there.” 

Rosie craned her neck as she took in the sheer size of the tower. “Is he always up there if he’s not fighting bad guys?” she asked. “That’s awfully lonely.” 

“Darkwing Duck is the loner type,” Tino admitted. “I don’t think he minds.” 

Starling preferred doing everything himself, whether it involved thwarting crimes on a TV show or making himself the center of attention. In the best case scenario, people tolerated him. 

Still, it seemed like a lonely way to live. 

Of course, Michael and Dan would insist that Starling brought it on himself. Tino wasn’t a match for either of them when they were riled up, so he kept his beak shut on the matter. 

                                           -------------------------------- 

It was another hour before Tino got home from driving Rosie to the orphanage. The sunset lit up the sky in brilliant warm hues, and Tino was glad he made it home before nighttime. He didn’t like driving in the dark. 

He parked the car next to its usual spot near the mailbox, figuring that he had some time to check on his flowers before dinner. He circled the front lawn of the house, humming a bouncy tune as he checked the leaves of a violet. 

So far, everything seemed fine. The bushes wouldn’t need trimming for a while, no aphids were destroying his flowers, and the pansies were thriving. 

Before Tino could walk up to the front porch, the front door was suddenly wrenched open, bouncing off the wall with a harsh bang. 

“-AND GROW A DAMN SPINE!” Michael screeched, storming out of the house. He brushed past Tino, cursing Starling under his breath. 

Tino let him go. Michael’s temper cooled much faster when he had a few minutes to collect himself.

Dan and Jack watched Michael stomp down the sidewalk from their safe position in the hallway. 

“I’m guessing something important happened after all?” Tino asked, already dreading the answer. 

Jack nodded. “Dabble decided to use Starling’s idea for a meet-and-greet.”

Marino Dabble had the most volatile relationship with Starling out of all the directors in Darkwing Duck. He always seemed to provoke Starling during filming, disregarding any of Starling’s demands and cutting scenes whenever Starling shouted a contradicting order to keep the cameras rolling. 

“Except he wanted Rosie to be center stage,” Dan added. 

“Starling didn’t take it well,” Jack said. 

Tino wasn’t surprised, but he prayed Starling wouldn’t take his anger out on Rosie for taking his limelight. She was an innocent kid, and Dabble was putting her in the line of fire. Starling became irrational and even more temperamental when he believed someone was cutting into his screentime. 

Not for the first time, Tino wished he could be as outspoken as Michael or as respected as Jack. 

“Is that why Michael’s mad?” Tino asked. 

“I’ll go after him. He’s probably had enough time by now,” Dan said, gently pushing past Tino and hurrying out the door. 

“The meet and greet is two weeks away,” Jack said as Tino sat down at the dinner table. There was already a hot cup of tea and a strawberry salad in front of him. “We should prepare Rosie so she won’t be overwhelmed.” 

The deaths of Rosie’s parents had been widely publicized by both the Duckburg and St. Canard media. While details varied between newspapers and tabloids, the one thing that held true was that little rich girl Rosie had been left under the care of several maids while her parents had a date night. On the way back to the car, they were mugged and murdered for their money and valuables. Rosie found out the next morning, and she was shipped off to a St. Canard orphanage within a week. 

The killer was never caught. 

Several months later, a talent scout discovered Rosie’s acting abilities while searching for a suitable child to provide a voice in an animated film and introduced her to the studio. 

When Rosie wasn’t in lessons or voice-acting, she wandered over to the Darkwing Duck set, making polite small-talk with everyone she came across. Starling was the only one who ignored her presence.

He was always too caught up with himself to notice anything an inch away from his beak. 

Though Rosie only voiced a side character in the animated film, the life she breathed into the drawings captured the audience’s hearts. Tino had cried for twenty minutes straight when Rosie’s character sang a lullaby to herself after getting separated from her parents. 

Now that he gave it some thought, that part wasn’t an emotional act for Rosie. She knew those feelings all too well. 

Tino took a small bite of his strawberry, suddenly aware of Jack scrutinizing him like an interesting statistic. 

“Jack, can you please stop? It’s awkward when you do that,” Tino mumbled. 

Jack shrugged, gaze snapping to the table. “Sorry. You’re thinking about Rosie again, aren’t you?” 

“She’s...she’s a good kid,” Tino admitted. “Kinda deserves a permanent home, you know?” 

“I know,” Jack agreed, his mouth twitching. “She loves science.” 

“Just smile,” Tino suggested. “It looks good on camera.” 

“I don’t see any cameras at the moment,” Jack said as he squeezed a lemon into his water. “And besides, someone has to be the aloof, responsible one in this house.” 

Aloof. Sure, Tino snorted. 

Because aloof people totally shouted at the game show channel on TV. 

                                                 --------------------------------

Tino tore the purple wig off his head and dropped onto the green room’s couch in exhaustion, shoulder still aching from Starling’s punch during filming. Dan tossed him an ice pack from the small freezer. Jack made sure they never ran out of ice packs. It was a necessity when one worked with Starling. 

Tino gratefully placed it on his shoulder. 

Michael immediately launched into a tirade on where Starling could stick his overly large fedora, but Tino was only half-listening. They’d been through this song and dance before. 

There was a safe way for actors to punch and kick in fight scenes, but Starling never held back, which led to the Fearsome Four not holding back out of self-defense, and everything just snowballed from there. 

Starling had been more irritable during filming than usual, but Tino chalked it up to a hissy fit caused by Dabble’s decision to include Rosie in the meet and greet even though she wasn’t part of the Darkwing Duck cast. 

“-AND GET ALL THE WRINKLES OUT THIS TIME!” a voice shouted from outside the green room. 

Speak of the devil. 

“Stupid incompetent wardrobe team,” Starling muttered as he swept into the room. He’d discarded the cape, but wore the rest of his Darkwing Duck costume with overblown pride. 

Starling ignored everyone as he headed straight for the fridge and pulled out a brown paper bag that contained his lunch. Tino tried not to gag at the canned tuna and sauerkraut smell. 

Dan and Michael shifted over to Tino’s side of the room, occasionally shooting livid glares at Starling. Michael’s face turned the same shade of red as his Quackerjack outfit. He was only holding back for Tino’s sake. 

Since when did Starling take his lunch in the green room anyway? He hated eating around people he believed were beneath his association. 

“I’ve never been to a beach, Mr. Jack. Is it nice?” 

“Sure is. Natural saltwater is the best. Just don’t get it in your mouth though. It doesn’t taste good.” 

Jack neatly hung his coat on a row of hooks next to the door. Rosie tried to follow his lead, though she was too short to hang it herself. 

“May I take your jacket, young lady?” Jack asked with an elegant bow. 

Tino grabbed a pillow to muffle a sudden case of the giggles. So much for being the aloof one. 

Rosie smiled and folded her puffy pink jacket over his outstretched arm. Like a true gentleman, Jack placed it on the hook and patted out the creases. 

Starling rolled his eyes at the display and turned his back on them. But Tino knew he was watching Rosie bounce on her tip-toes as she explained everything she learned in her singing lessons. 

                                               -------------------------------- 

“I am the terror who flaps in the night! I am the faulty cord in the outlet of evil! I am Darkwing Duck!” Starling dramatically held his cape out behind him as he appeared in a puff of blue smoke. He shifted not-so-subtly to the left in an attempt to show off his best side. 

Since only Dan and Jack were needed for this episode, Tino and Michael watched the filming from the sidelines. It was for the best. Rosie’s reading tutor had unexpectedly called in sick, so she was able to spend the afternoon with them. 

Tino didn’t want Rosie exposed to a Michael and Starling showdown just yet. Things tended to get ugly. 

“Give up! St. Canard’s hydroelectric dam belongs to us!” Dan shouted, a sinister cackle escaping from his throat. 

“You’ll pay for stealing electricity and throwing St. Canard into the Dark Ages!” Starling retorted. “Let’s get dangerous!” 

The prop team immediately dumped a bucket of water on Starling from the catwalk above the set, throwing the bucket at him for good measure. They didn’t bother disguising their gleeful smiles. 

Starling spat out several plastic goldfish, coughing as he declared how pathetic the attack was. Then Jack crept up behind Starling and threw a quick punch to the back of his head. Starling crumpled dramatically. 

Rosie frowned as Jack tied Starling to a pole with a water hose. “I hope he isn’t hurt,” she said. Her fingers nervously drummed against her pink dress. 

“Unfortunately,” Michael muttered. 

Tino elbowed him lightly. “Starling’s a resilient guy. He’ll be alright. Besides, Darkwing Duck always wins.” 

Starling slipped out of his restraints, which were already loose to begin with, and shot a column of smoke from his gas gun at Dan and Jack. Their surprise only lasted for a minute, but it was enough for Starling to subdue them. 

“And the vigilante is once again victorious against the vile villainous scum!” Starling crowed as he tossed Dan and Jack into the set’s jail cell. He struck a final heroic pose to wrap up the episode. 

While the film crew reviewed the footage they captured so far, Starling strutted off the main set and grabbed a soda from a nearby drink cooler. He didn’t free Dan and Jack from the cell even though the key hung on a peg several feet away. 

Pushing down a burst of anger at Starling’s carelessness, Tino left Rosie with Michael and freed his friends himself.  

“I need an aspirin,” Dan groaned, nursing a bruise on his cheek.

Jack folded his arms across his chest, not looking too worse for wear, but Tino could tell he favored his right leg.

“I should invent an instant healing ray gun,” Dan sighed. “No more bruises, cuts, or pimples and it won’t leave a scar either.”

“A huge hit on the market,” Tino said.

“Supply and demand,” Jack added.

Dan rolled his eyes. “Not all of us majored in economics.”

As they rejoined Rosie and Michael, Starling sauntered over. His fedora was pulled low and tilted sideways in his usual careless, jerkwad fashion. The edges of his beak curled into a sneer.

“It’s awfully nice to have coworkers who allow a little brat to steal my thunder,” Starling growled.

“Don’t call Rosie a brat!” Michael shouted, clenching his fists. Dan stepped in front of him, whispering soothing words to prevent him from punching Starling in the face. “You don’t know her. You don’t know her at all!”

Tino shielded Rosie behind his back. She clung to his waist, innocent green eyes flickering between each adult. He couldn’t meet Starling with equal aggression, remain calm and cordial, or invoke a balance between the two extremes.

This would have to do for now.

“None of us played a role in Dabble’s decision,” Jack said. His tone was even and controlled, but Tino heard the slightest edge of steel creeping in. “I suggest releasing your frustration towards him in the studio’s gym instead.” 

Starling’s cape flared out as he stomped up to Jack. His beak was several inches away from Jack’s nose. “And where exactly were your so-called diplomatic skills when I needed them? Either the fans come and see me because I’m there, or they don’t show up cause I’m not. Who’s the main character of this series? Who’s the person everyone watches the show for? Who’s the inspiration, the fighter, the creme de la creme of all superheroes? Cause last I checked, it sure as hell isn’t Liquidator!” 

Starling always referred to them by their character names. He couldn’t be bothered to remember their actual names, or more importantly, that they weren’t megalomaniacal villains. 

“Go away,” Dan said as held onto a seething Michael. “Some of us have lives outside a fictional world.” 

“Darkwing isn’t fictional, you half-wit!” Starling snarled. “He’s—I’m right in front of you!” 

Starling pointed an accusing finger at Dan, but a grimace flickered across his face and his arm fell to his side. 

“You’re hurt!” a little girl’s voice cried. 

The tiny pressure around Tino’s waist vanished. 

Before anyone could say anything, Rosie latched onto Starling’s fingers, holding his palm with one hand while the other carefully pushed his sleeves away from his wrist.

Michael’s eyes widened, Dan gasped, and Jack’s brow furrowed in worry. 

Tino bit the inside of his beak. 

Rosie had broken Starling’s no-touching-me-offset rule. Everyone agreed with this rule, no matter how much they disliked Starling. 

No hugs, no pats on the back, no friendly jostling, no handshakes. 

Starling hated physical contact unless it involved beating someone up during filming. Nobody asked why, and Starling never offered an explanation. 

A red mark circled Starling’s wrist. Starling’s breath hitched, looking as though he desperately wanted to pull away but couldn’t make his body move. 

“You should put some aloe on it,” Rosie suggested. “It’ll sting, but it takes the pain away.” 

Starling didn’t seem to hear her. 

“Rosie, let him go,” Jack ordered. 

Rosie cast an unsure glance at Starling’s wrist. 

“Now.” 

Startled by Jack’s no-nonsense tone, Rosie let go of Starling’s hand. 

Recovering from his frozen state, Starling scoffed and rubbed his wrist against his blazer to shake off any lingering traces of her touch. “Whatever,” he muttered as he stalked off. 

“Mr. Starling?” Rosie called. 

Starling paused in the doorway, inclining his head towards Rosie. His eyes were covered by the brim of his fedora. 

“I’m sorry,” Rosie whispered. 

“Don’t do it again, kid.” 

Though his tone was blunt, it wasn’t haughty or condescending. 

Maybe there was some cordiality in that universe-sized ego after all. 

                                           --------------------------------

Starling was talking to Rosie. 

Okay, so most of the conversation was about himself and how badass he looked on camera, but he wasn’t entirely ignoring her.  

Rosie clasped her hands together and maintained a respectful distance. She learned from the first incident, taking Jack’s lecture to heart on how some people disliked touch and a few tips on what she could do to respect their boundaries. 

If Starling noticed, he didn’t give anything away. 

Tino found his aloe bottle in the wrong cabinet with traces of green ointment on its side. Wordlessly, he wiped away the extra moisture and returned the bottle to its proper place. 

He had a hunch on who misplaced his aloe, but he didn’t think it was worth mentioning. 

Over the next few days, Rosie settled into a routine. She learned, she played, she voice-acted, and she ate lunch with Starling. 

Michael balked at the last development. “Girl’s gonna ruin her nose,” he muttered, shaking his head incredulously when Rosie barely reacted to the smell of Starling’s canned tuna and sauerkraut sandwich. 

                                           --------------------------------

Tino’s day to drive Rosie back to the orphanage rolled around again. It was the day before the meet-and-greet, and they’d spent the entire week preparing Rosie for her first public appearance. 

Rosie could answer questions and smile like a champ now. She’d do well tomorrow. Tino didn’t mind fading into the background and talking to the occasional fan who wandered his way. 

That’s how the Darkwing Duck cast did things. 

Starling soaked up everyone’s attention and signed autographs while everyone else formed a nice backdrop. 

Starling’s animosity to Rosie had lessened over the past few days. While he still wasn’t pleased by Dabble’s decision, he managed to grasp that it wasn’t Rosie’s fault. 

“Got everything?” Tino asked as Rosie slid a math workbook into her princess-themed backpack. 

“Ready, Mr. Tino!” Rosie exclaimed, slipping her backpack over her shoulders. “I don’t think I’d be able to sleep tonight. I’m just happy I can see all of you tomorrow!” 

Tino couldn’t help but grin at her unbridled honesty. 

“Bushroot! Just the guy I wanted to see!”

Tino suppressed a sigh. Only one person called him Bushroot outside of filming, and it wasn’t a person he tried to interact with on a casual basis.

“Yes?” Tino asked politely, channeling what he believed Jack would say in this type of situation. “I need to drive Rosie to St. Canald...I mean, St. Canard. Sorry that we’re in a hurry here. You know how bad the Audubon Bay Bridge is during rush hour.” 

The corners of Starling’s beak turned up. One could call it a smile, but only with a very loose definition of the word. 

“Is your face alright, Mr. Starling?” Rosie asked. 

“What’s wrong with my-” Starling’s snappy mood returned for a brief moment, but he coughed and busied himself with smoothing down his clothes. 

Which consisted of Darkwing’s turtleneck and unbuttoned purple blazer. 

Tino was starting to believe that Starling had no life outside of Darkwing Duck. 

“Don’t worry, I’m fine,” Starling said. At least he dropped the not-smile. “I wanted to see you off. We talk at lunch, but that’s only an hour. Not even an hour if Dabble decides to rush us.” 

Rosie bounced on her heels, eyes glazed over in thought. She had a tendency to bounce while thinking. 

“Can Mr. Starling come along too?” Rosie asked, tugging on Tino’s sleeve. “He never finished his story about the malfunctioning jack-in-the-box in the ‘Knick-knack Paddywhack’ episode!” 

“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea...” Tino trailed off. Rosie’s curls had gone limp. Tino wondered if she had secret hair powers. 

Starling looked a bit crestfallen too. 

If Jack, Dan, or Michael had been in his place, they would’ve ignored Starling and left already. But Starling was actually interacting with Rosie. 

Interaction that didn’t involve punching someone or bossing them around. 

Tino lost the battle. That’s what he got from looking at Rosie when she was nearing disappointment. 

“Alright, he can come if he wants,” Tino sighed. 

Rosie cheered and Starling puffed out his chest as if he never doubted that Tino would refuse. 

                                          -------------------------------- 

“-Darkwing Duck on the brink of defeat, nothing but open air behind him and a monochromatic malefactor cackling madly in front of him! Then he remembers how much the citizens of St. Canard depend on him to keep the criminals at bay, and in a sudden burst of strength, he clubs Paddywhack with his trusty gas gun and seals him in the cursed jack-in-the-box!” 

Tino concentrated on switching to the middle lane, choosing not to comment on  Starling’s deliberate omission of how he got stuck in the springs of the jack-in-the-box during the Paddywhack fight scene. 

Rosie listened attentively, eyes sparkling as she envisioned the scene before her. 

They hit the usual traffic on the Audubon Bay Bridge just as Starling’s tale ended. Rosie didn’t bat an eye. She loved seeing the cargo ships sail through the bay. 

But Starling groaned and tilted his seat back at a thirty-degree angle.  

“Hey bush-for-brains, can’t this seat go back more?” Starling growled, yanking at the lever in a futile effort to make the seat tilt further. 

“It’s an old car,” Tino admitted. “You’ve already got it at the max.” 

Starling rolled his eyes, but at least he stopped trying to mutilate the lever. 

Rosie swung her legs, looking towards the horizon, oblivious to Starling’s numerous complaints with Tino’s car. 

“Rosie, I was thinking of becoming your legal guardian,” Starling said as he slipped a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. 

Tino caught his eye in the mirror, but Starling either didn’t notice or care. Tino returned his attention to the road, trying not to complain out loud when another driver cut him off. 

Rosie’s head whipped around so quickly that Tino was sure she’d have whiplash in the morning. 

“You don’t wanna live at the orphanage forever, right? Living with THE Darkwing Duck is better than those guys,” Starling declared. 

After a brief moment of silence, Rosie smiled at him. “Thank you, Mr. Starling, sir! I’d love for you to be my legal guardian!” 

She reached out for a hug, but Starling just raised an eyebrow at her. “First rule, kid. Don’t touch me,” he reminded her. 

Rosie teared up, but she seemed more happy and relieved. “Mr. Tino, I have a legal guardian now!” she exclaimed. 

Tino knew she was equating ‘legal guardian’ with ‘parent’, but Rosie didn’t realize she’d just accepted a self-centered, vain, gloryhounding jerk who didn’t deserve either title. 

Tino wasn’t looking forward to breaking the news to Michael. He’d dropped hints recently about taking Rosie in. 

“I’m glad,” Tino said. 

He was the worst liar in the world, but Rosie beamed at him anyway. 

                                         -------------------------------- 

When they got to the orphanage, Rosie immediately broke away from Tino and Starling so she could gather her belongings and say goodbye to her friends. 

“Jim Starling, the one and only Darkwing Duck. There supposed to be a few papers I can sign so I can take legal guardianship of little Ruby here?” Starling asked the orphanage director. 

“Actually, it’s Rosie,” Tino corrected, shuffling his feet when Starling glared at him. 

Seriously, who took in a kid without bothering to learn their name first? 

But the orphanage director simply dropped a huge packet of stapled papers into Starling’s arms. “Just sign in the highlighted areas,” she said, returning to listlessly stirring her coffee. 

St. Canard orphanages must’ve been in worse shape than Tino realized if they were willing to hand a kid over to Starling without asking any questions. 

Starling took out a pen topped with a Darkwing Duck figurine and scribbled an enormous loopy signature in the highlighted portions. He flipped through the papers so quickly that Tino only had time to read the bold print on top of the page. 

“Wouldn’t it be better to read the page before you signed it?” Tino asked. The look on Jack’s face would’ve been priceless if he’d been here. 

Jack’s biggest pet peeve was how people never read the fine print before they signed a document.  

Starling huffed. “You wanna be here all night?” 

“Well, no-” 

“Then shut up and let me sign this in peace.” 

Thankfully, the next page asked for name, date of birth, address, and the usual things that were asked on important forms, forcing Starling to slow down. 

Tino’s leg bounced as watched the clock. The hands crept towards five-thirty. Rosie would need to eat soon. 

And Starling’s usual dietary habits shouldn’t be passed onto any six-year-old. 

“Do you even know how to take care of a kid?” Tino asked. 

Starling’s hand clenched around the pen. A glob of blue ink stained the paper. Starling tried to rub it away, but only succeeded in smearing it across his hand. 

“Can’t be that hard,” Starling shrugged. “She gets food, a place to sleep, a stuffed animal or two, and a famous actor for her legal guardian. She could use someone to help her navigate the adoring public anyway.” 

“And caring about her?” Tino asked. “Love, attention, guidance, school?” 

Starling rolled his eyes. “Look, I give her a roof over her head and she doesn’t need to share her stuff with a bunch of other snot-nosed brats. She can run and play and hang with you and everyone else. She can go wherever she wants or do whatever she wants.” 

Starling signed the last document with a flourish and set the clipboard aside. 

Tino gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do to counteract Starling. 

                                          -----------------------------------

Starling’s apartment was several blocks away from the studio, and judging by the amount of dust that had accumulated over the furniture, it hadn’t been lived in for a while. 

Tino delayed going home in favor of helping Rosie unpack and settle in, cleaning the lonely, secluded guest room until it was suitable to sleep in. Tino dressed a spare mattress in a Darkwing Duck bedspread, pushing down a pang of anger at Starling for his lack of preparation when it came to bringing a kid home. 

Speaking of which, wasn’t it the guardian’s job to make a kid feel at home? 

Rosie hadn’t complained once, but that didn’t make it right. 

Tino probably would’ve stayed all night, but he was booted out after he disagreed with Starling’s decision to feed Rosie an unhealthy Hamburger Hippo kids’ meal. 

                                          -----------------------------------

Tino didn’t get home until eight in the evening, and the rice and bean plate Jack had left for him in the fridge tasted like cardboard. 

“You missed Pelican Island,” Dan said as he fiddled with a blender-like invention. “They almost got off the island, but then Dahlia found out that Georgio kissed Valerie and they broke the sail in their fight and all of Mason’s progress got set back by three weeks. Then they look in the almanac and find there’s a monsoon heading their way so now they have to delay leaving the island and find shelter as soon as possible cause the rains are gonna hit in less than a week-” 

Tino listened to Dan ramble about the show, focusing on his commentary and allowing Starling’s legal guardian status to slip his mind for the time being. Tino wanted to break the news gently and hopefully minimize any casualties that might ensue, but he’d need time to work on framing his words so that nobody thought it was the end of the world.

Jack leaned against the doorframe, coolly staring at Tino. Finishing his dinner quickly, Tino scraped the remaining crumbs into the trash and took much longer than necessary to wash the dishes, feeling Jack’s eyes bore into his back the entire time. 

Jack never pushed the issue, but he always had the uncanny ability to sniff out a lie. 

Dan and Michael were locked in a heated debate over who Georgio was better off with, suspecting nothing out of the ordinary. 

                                            -----------------------------------

The meet and greet started at noon, but they arrived at the venue an hour early to help the film crew set everything up. 

Dabble had reserved a section of Barks Park for their public appearance. It was a good park with plenty of grassy hills, a playground, and a bike trail. 

It was popular for family outings, Tino recalled, hoping to spot Rosie’s red curls among a group of children who were playing soccer nearby. 

But there was no sign of Starling or Rosie. 

Starling always arrived later than everyone else so all the attention would be drawn to him. Tino just hoped that Rosie didn’t adopt Starling’s compulsive need to be fashionably late. 

“Places, everybody!” Dabble barked. “That means you, Michael!” 

“I’m in the middle of something!” Michael called as he twisted a green balloon into a sword for an excited boy. 

“Put that helium pump away and get your jester butt over here!” 

Michael rolled his eyes, but he did a handspring-cartwheel combination that propelled him to his seat and wowed his young audience. 

The Fearsome Four’s table was on the right end of the gazebo, while the writers and artists’ table was to the left. The table in the middle had two empty chairs. 

“Wait, we can’t start yet! Where’s Rosie?” Dabble shouted once noon hit. He tapped his watch in frustration. 

“It was my day to pick her up,” another director admitted. “But I called the orphanage and they said Rosie doesn’t live there anymore.” 

“What?” Dabble cried, tearing several white feathers from his head. “Then where does she live now?” 

The director shrugged. “I asked, but some kid knocked over her coffee cup and she hung up to deal with them.” 

Tino’s hands clenched in his lap. Sooner or later, someone would remember that he dropped Rosie off last night and put two and two together-

Jack’s hand came to rest on Tino’s shoulder. 

And Tino knew he couldn’t keep quiet any longer.

“Rosie’s new legal guardian is-”

“I AM THE TERROR WHO FLAPS IN THE NIGHT!”

A column of blue smoke flared out. Several children tried to touch it, but their parents pulled them back.

“I AM THE CAUSE OF GRAY HAIR ON CRIMINALS’ SCALPS! I AM DARKWING-”

“Rosie, get up here! You were supposed to open the meet and greet ten minutes ago!” Dabble called.

Rosie nudged her way through the crowd, politely excusing herself as she made her way to the front of the gazebo. Michael waved, and Rosie returned the gesture, much to Starling’s disapproval. 

Starling crossed his arms as Dabble hurriedly gave a microphone to Rosie and whispered a few instructions to her.

“Are you kidding me?” Starling scoffed. “She’s not even part of the show! And you interrupted my introduction! I spend two hours ironing my cape and this is the sort of reception I get?” 

“You shouldn’t be wearing that outside of the studio!” Dabble hissed, gesturing to the Darkwing outfit. 

“There’s plenty to go around,” Starling scowled. 

“It costs money to make those-” 

“Shouldn’t we let Rosie speak now?” Dan mumbled. 

Rosie held the microphone loosely in one hand, the other nervously fiddling with a ribbon on her dress. For all the preparation they did, Rosie wasn’t experienced enough to handle an argument between Starling and Dabble. 

Starling snatched a spare microphone from the writers’ table. “Well, as much as I love verbally sparring with Babble here, I just want to take a few minutes to address something of the utmost importance.” 

“They’re kids,” Michael hissed. “They’re not interested in whatever you have to say.” 

True to Michael’s prediction, several kids left the audience to pursue more fun activities.

“As a man of action, Darkwing Duck always seeks opportunities to eliminate criminal scum and rescue innocents,” Starling declared. Tino could just imagine his pompous beak growing Pinocchio-style. “And of course, I’m Darkwing Duck, so I believe it’s time for me to put my lessons into practice. And what better way to do that, I wonder, then to become a legal guardian to a talented St. Canard orphan?” 

Michael gripped the tablecloth, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “He didn’t...” 

“I’m Rosie King-Fisher’s legal guardian,” Starling grinned. He bowed, expecting applause and praise. 

But Starling’s words seemed to go over the children’s heads. But the parents understood, shooting venomous glares at Starling as they steered their children elsewhere. 

“Hey! Where’s everyone going?” Starling called. He looked genuinely baffled that nobody was interested in the meet and greet anymore. “Seriously, isn’t this usually considered a good deed or something?” 

An empty water bottle smacked Starling in the face, and Tino silently thanked whoever threw it at him. 

Michael’s face turned a brilliant shade of red, and Dan was forced to hold him back as he screeched profanities to Starling’s face. Starling yelled back, and most of the backstage crew was too dumbfounded to interfere. 

Between calming Michael down, berating Starling for his impulsive decision, and Dabble trying to do damage control, Rosie’s presence was quickly forgotten. Jack gently pried the microphone out of Rosie’s hand. He took her by the hand, made eye contact with Tino, and inclined his head towards the gazebo’s other opening. 

The chaos allowed all three of them to slip away unnoticed. 

“Will Mr. Starling be okay?” Rosie asked as they reached a picnic area that contained several other families eating lunch and enjoying themselves. “And Mr. Michael?” 

She worried about Starling. 

Tino had never seen anyone worry about Starling before. 

“They’ll argue, but they’ll be fine,” Jack assured her. He knelt down to Rosie’s level, but he was still much taller than her, and she had to lean back slightly to make eye contact. “Is Mr. Starling treating you alright?” 

Tino made a small noise in the back of his throat. Starling never treated anyone alright. 

“He took me in,” Rosie said. “He’s kind of grumpy, but he did microwave me frozen waffles. We never got waffles at the orphanage. It was just oatmeal.” 

She spoke as if everything were really that simple. And to her, maybe it was.

“Are you happy?” Jack inquired. 

Rosie smiled. “Yes, sir. I’m happy to have all of you care for me.” 

There was a tiny twitch in Jack’s shoulders. 

Jack probably debated taking Rosie in too, but his logical mind drove him to question the expenses and sacrifices it would take. It wasn’t just Michael and Dan who toyed with the idea. 

And Tino had entertained it too, Multiple times. 

“Rosie, why don’t you go play?” Tino suggested. “It’s a nice park. Run around and have fun.” 

“Are you sure?” Rosie asked. 

“Jack and I have to talk,” Tino said gently. “We’ll stay here if you need us though.” 

At Jack’s encouraging nod, Rosie hugged them both and ran off to play. 

                                       ----------------------------------- Moments later, Rosie joined a game of tag and was having the time of her life. Confident that she’d be fine, Tino and Jack settled at a picnic table under the shade of a sturdy oak. 

“You knew the entire time,” Jack said. It was a statement, not a question. “Starling became Rosie’s legal guardian yesterday.” 

“Yes. Starling mentioned it in the car and Rosie agreed immediately,” Tino admitted. 

Jack didn’t reply. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t stop him,” Tino whispered. “Rosie seemed so happy though. I think she just wanted someone to get her out of the orphanage. It didn’t matter who.”

“You work with Starling. You know how he disrespects everyone,” Jack snapped. “Waffles and giving someone a place to stay doesn’t make him a good guardian overnight. And you just...didn’t say anything?” 

“Please, every time Michael brought up adopting Rosie, you said something about not having an adequate guest room for her,” Tino shot back. 

“Starling knew you wouldn’t say anything because you’re such a pushover! He deliberately targeted you!” Jack shouted, drawing everyone’s attention to them.  

Tino ducked his head, waiting until everyone lost interest and returned to their lunch. While he was more embarrassed from the sudden scrutiny, Jack seemed to interpret the motion as more of a guilty expression. 

Jack moved to Tino’s side of the table, wrapping his arms around Tino’s shoulders in a sideways hug. “Sorry, Tino. I didn’t mean that. I swear I didn’t,” he said frantically. 

Jack rarely stumbled over his words, so Tino knew that the entire situation had gotten to Jack’s head. 

“I’m alright,” Tino said quietly. “Guess we’ve gotta stop beating around the Bushroot now, huh?” 

“You’re never gonna let me live that pun down, are you?” Jack sighed, but his lips were twitching upward. 

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” 

They watched Rosie for a while. Her pink dress was caked in grass stains and there was a leaf in her hair, but she was radiating happiness with every spring in her step. 

“Rosie deserves to be happy,” Jack said. “I wish we could’ve said something sooner.”

“She is happy,” Tino assured him. “Didn’t you hear her? She’s happy we care about her.” 

“But does Starling care about her? As more than a publicity stunt?” Jack asked. 

“I don’t know,” Tino shrugged. “Starling’s a hard guy to figure out. If he does care about her, maybe he could be a better person. If he doesn’t, then we’ll keep our home open to her so she won’t be alone.” 

“We’ll have to figure out that guest room.” 

“You’re planning to drag us all to the store to look at paint swatches for an entire afternoon, aren’t you?” 

“Guilty as charged.” 

Rosie shouted in joy as she tagged another girl and darted away before she could be caught again. She looked just like any other six-year-old instead of the little orphan girl. 

Though she could probably do with clothes meant for playing in, Tino noted. 

A rustle of the leaves from the leaves above him caught his eye. Curious, Tino peered up into the branches of the oak. There was a dark shape leaning against the crook of a thick branch and trunk. It was hidden from everyone else’s view, concealed by the verdant leaves. 

Though his eyes were concealed by the brim of his hat, Tino could see a ghost of a smile forming on his beak.  

Maybe there was hope for Starling after all.

[theloniousbach]

50 Years of Going to Shows, Pt. 3: Portrait of the Rock Fan as an Old Man

Rediscovering the Grateful Dead in the late 1980s led to going to rock concerts again, both THEM at the end and then their aftermath.  If that was part 2, this part 3 is about other latter day rock’n’roll.

While the Allman Brothers had been disappointing at Royals Stadium in 1973, they were balm in September 1995 with Garcia’s death looming.  They went into a St. Stephen’s jam in the middle of an always climactic “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” that was soothing and hard charging.  Dicky Betts was around, so I guess that was the last time I saw him, but so was Warren Haynes.  So that was the first time I saw him as he was already a workhorse and a consummate professional.  I can’t say I thought they were great, but it sure was good to see them.  A later show in 2005, Haynes with Derek Trucks, was equally solid.  They were showing their age, as the GD had, but were invigorating the set lists and their self conception.  It helped to have Haynes and especially Trucks.  Poor Haynes, he is so very very good, but the first time I saw him, he was an after thought to Betts.  This time Trucks showed for the first time what a rare talent he is.  Jimmy Herring was often the lyrical soaring voice in Lesh’s Q.  Haynes just shows up and plays his ass off, always part of the first string.

So Gov’t Mule has been a must see when they come through.  I have found myself noticing different things each time.  One time it was the phrase by phrase construction of his solos with subtle adjustments of pick ups, one it was his singing, another time his set list construction and his exquisite taste in covers, the way he leads the band.  This guy is a pro and he leads a musician’s band.  Somebody once said that before smoking heroin, Garcia’s first addiction was music.  Haynes may not be addicted but he is an adventurous and wonderfully restless musician.  I was out of town for interesting experiments like the Warren Haynes Band which was very r&bish and a tour with acoustic musicians that was about songs.  But I would have gone.

The Derek Trucks Band was prodigy-ous, very good but not quite gelled.  Trucks deferred to his older drummer as the emcee and Kofi Burbridge and Mike Mattison (both of whom came into his band, their band with Susan Tedeschi) were important supports.  The material was clever and adventurous, but it wasn’t quite there.

Now, the Tedeschi Trucks Band is a beast, the best show on the road doing the music that matters to me.  She has one of the great voices and is no slouch on guitar.  They have everything, two drummers, horns, back up vocals, and a remarkable range and scope.  I have just realized how much they owe in conception and even cover tunes to the Joe Cocker/Leon Russell Mad Dogs and Englishmen project.  I have seen them three times but have not opted for their summer Wheels of Soul tours as one set from them on a week night after two supporting bands has not appealed.  I have couch toured with them for a couple of shows in February 2019.

I have tried to make up for lost ground too.  I have tried, honest I have, to get the Uncle Tupelo heritage, alt country being something I know I missed by being a jazz snob by the late 1970s and then gladly going with trad folk/Celtic/Balkan as the family’s music.  But I don’t hear songs well and don’t hang on lyrics anyway.  So a couple of Son Volt shows and one Jay Farrar were solid, interesting, and didn’t grab me.  Neither did a Wilco one.  Tweedy too has some songs and Nels Cline, whose path I’ve crossed in some jazz circles, is an interesting guitar colorist.  But, that’s enough.

I had more success with Elvis Costello who has put on some good expansive tours.  One used a spinning roulette type wheel to determine the set lists, but it was happily rigged to make sure that everything got played.  Another used a set to visit different eras.  That one included Larkin Poe as openers.  They were pretty nifty, but they have resurfaced and stand out as the future.

He also opened for Bob Dylan (2007ish) and frankly was more impressive.  That was the last time I saw Dylan and I’m glad I saw another tour circa 2004, but I don’t have the new tunes fixed in my mind and don’t plan to.  The old ones are sometimes hard to place.  I’m glad he’s still on the road and that he’s hardly a nostalgia act.  But he’s not doing much I need to hear.

My concert partners have encouraged me to try some things that have been worthwhile but not lasting.  Grace Potter was fine, but my song deafness was a factor.  Robert Randolph captures a nifty roots genre, sacred steel, and then brings it forward into a mix of rock and soul.  And I have twice bought tickets for the Yonder Mountain String Band and missed both due to illness.  I have resigned myself to being jinxed and don’t even try, preferring to stay healthy. I saw String Cheese Incident as a headliner for which Ratdog opened, but they didn’t do much for us and we walked out.  

I have passed on Phish but did see the Trey Anastasio Band twice.  Of course, he’s an amazing guitar player and this band is rootsier (the horns help) with some good covers.  But his songs are slight.  As a second generation jam band, he/they listened to first gen bands, Zappa, and prog rock whereas the first gen, especially the Dead, listened to jug bands, old time, bluegrass, and country.  So it’s less grounded.

I did see some free concerts here in St. Louis of people I would have wanted to see.  There was a late 1980s tour of The Band and they got away with using the name with Levon Helm, Rick Danko, and Garth Hudson holding up the legacy.  Around the same time or probably the summer before or after, Dr. John came through and that was welcome.

A local blues festival brought in Taj Mahal and I’m glad I got to see him as he was a hero of my youth.  Quite an influence too as country blues became part of the folk legacy I have gravitated too.

But this stuff should be dynamic and not nostalgic.  So I may have a couple of youngish bands that I am watching.

I mentioned Larkin Poe via Elvis Costello.  I found them doing hotel room videos of important covers which means, like Jackie Greene, that they are influenced by the right mix of rock, soul, and above all blues.  They have strong rootsy albums of their own.  Rebecca Lovell has one of those powerful Southern voices and is the articulate voice of their shared intelligence about the music.  Big sister Megan is “the slide queen” having rigged a lap steel like a dobro she can play standing up.  She is an amazing player.  I saw them In an outdoor club that I anticipate they will outgrow.  They are doing some festivals this summer that should garner/has garnered the attention of biggies in the blues scene—Eric Gales, Joe Bonamassa, and maybe even Warren Haynes—that should pay dividends.  Remember, I saw them back in the day.

It was covers too that called Lake Street Dive to my attention.  But, besides the incredible voice of Rachael Price, they also have a nifty band sound anchored by Bridget Kearney on bass.  They too have listened to soul and other roots, but also have a mix of pithy guitar or trumpet and a subtle approach to percussion.  They are already a big deal and may have settled into an audience.  But it’s one that I join as an older member.  Larkin Poe has a levy of my generation locked into the blues and Jackie Greene has Deadheads along for the ride.  But LSD has its own hipster identity.

So, the music keeps growing and maybe I do too.

[movingkeepmoving]

Sofía, Bulgaria - June 2019 🇧🇬

The second last day of my journey was ready to start. It started once more early but not as early as intended to at first. My original plan included a coach trip from Thessaloniki to Sofía, but as lucky as I was on this trip, I got adopted by two fellow fans who invited me on their ride on a more comfortable car. While I did know tiny bits of Greek, I didn't know a single thing about Bulgaria. Well, not 100% true - I knew they're part of the European Union, they don't have the Euro and they use the Cyrillic alphabet. That's it. I didn't know they were not part of Schengen and I also didn't know a single thing about their fascinating long history.

Once being dropped of in Sofía, I fell in love with the city. Its different, it's full of history - you can tell by just walking around for five minutes - and it's super green and full of parks. I head to my hostel, ring the bell and after a couple of minutes an old lady appears, telling me in broken English there's something wrong with my room and hands me a phone. The man on the other end explains me that they have anogher building down the road, the woman will bring me there, and they will upgrade my single hostel room to a studio for the same price. Alright?!? I follow her and we have a nice and brief talk in English. I tell her I'm from Germany and it's my first time in Bulgaria, I'm here for a concert, but not to play myself - to watch a band. She's charming and welcoming as she's trying her best in communicating with me.

She drops me off with her colleague at the studio house. This new woman doesn't speak any English, so she hands me her telephone and I talk to the guy I talked before. We discuss the final details and then I have a super huge studio with a kitchen and sofa and a large bed all for myself. I charge my batteries, check the nearby restaurants and download the local Taxi App. It works like Beat in Greece, you can pay via credit card and so you don't have to withdraw too much money from the next ATM. I'm craving something fresh and healthy so I get late lunch at a close by fusion restaurant that serves an amazing poke bowl. As I have a full day left for sightseeing, I decide to head down early for the venue. I'm totally on my own this time and you never know how crazy the Bulgarian folks are about gigs. On my way getting there I have the best and cutest old taxi driver you can imagine. She talks English, shows me some sights of the city while passing them, tells me to definitely use the app after the show to not get scammed by another cab driver as the venue is in a students area and he hands me a tourist info in English about the most famous sights. He also changes the radio station to the rock channel once I told him about my plans for the evening and in just that moment, the gig gets announced on the station and Dropkick Murphys are played on the radio...

Boy, was I wrong about the audience. Nobody shows up until 30 minutes before door. The first person I get in contact with is G. from the UK. He tells me he came down as DKM and FT are his favourite artists. Well once more - I'm not alone at a Frank Turner gig and I guess I never will. Doors open, and about 6 people head into the venue, an ice hockey stadium. Once the six of us are in, nothing happens for an hour. I walk around, get me a coke and water and some caramel popcorn as apperently this is what you can buy at a gig in Sofia. Franks set is moved back by 20 minutes and once he enters the stage there are some hundred people inside the venue while the rest is still out front smoking. (For the first time of this tour, the promoter made actually sure that nobody is smoking indoors! It's a blessing!)

Once more some Frank Turner fans gather around close to the front. I can hear them singing both on my left and my right side, which makes me smile like a nutter and sing even louder. It's once more utterly insane to whitnes Franks first gig in Bulgaria. I guess it's pretty hard regarding the size of the venue and the small amount of people who do know him. But it doesn't stop him. No, he tries even harder, chats his bits through the Bulgarian language and he even managed to sing "Eulogy" in it. It's like his magic trick, everytime he does that, the crowds starts to respect him a tiny bit more. He tells the crowd how crazy it is for him to finally play a show in Bulgaria and says its pretty special to him as he wrote his university dissertation about British-Bulgarian relationships. This evening I sing extra loud during "I still believe" - as it somehow became the song of my trip to the East. I would never had thought that I would travel all the way down to Greece to see my favourite artist opening up for an American band. Well in the end I travelled to those places and the shows were the red cherry on top of doing the trip.

Sofia was finally the gig where I was able to witness a FULL Dropkick Murphys gig. I got me a seat on the side and enjoyed the non smoking environment. From the very first start about 2700 people went nuts. While looking around I saw so many happy faces and I once more realised how lucky I am living in Berlin with 5-10 gigs every day. These people had to wait more than 20 years to see Dropkick Murphys play in their city - in their country. And the guys from Massachusetts showed them what Punkrock was about. At one point singer Ken stopped the band as he saw someone in the crowd doing Nazi salutes. Ken was all about to jump into the crowd and fight that guy. Everything happened at the other side of the room, I didn't see anything besides a raging singer. But in this moment Ken earned a lot of respect from my end.

Luckily the show was ready to continue and I wandered a bit around until a friend of the band invited me to come up sidestage to become part of the final stage invasion of my tour. I've been side stage for many shows in my life, but to see this wild and happy crowd from up there made my heart jump with joy. It was beautiful and being part of the stage invasion some minutes later felt absolutely unreal. Do you know this feeling when you just think you're dreaming? That was me, dancing and singing around on a stage in Sofía, Bulgaria. Even when I look back to it now, I can not really believe this did actually happen to me.

Sometimes life is full of big surprises and I'm still so happy I decided to do this trip when all my fellow gig buddies said they wouldn't join. Traveling and going to my gigs on my very own made me learn a lot about myself but also a lot about those foreign countries and their people who react differently to you if you actually interact with them. When you're travelling in a group you tend to keep to yourself and turn around to keep chatting in your group conversation. This wasn't possible for me, I had to get in contact with people and I loved it! One more day in Sofia ahead...

[blossomingx]

Aside from watching the reputation stadium tour last night, this entire weekend has been HORRIBLE. So I’m just going to rant a little to blow off some steam.

Friday - the day before the concert - I plan to do all the last minute things I need so I wouldn’t have to worry about anything. I double check my room reservations, flights, rental, tickets... all the necessary things. I got my eyebrows threaded and it’s a new lady at the place I go to, and even tho I was hesitant on weather or not I should do them with her, I still did. Big. Mistake. She CUT MY EYELID. I was full on bleeding. And to top it off, she thinned the hell out of them after I told her NOT TO. Everyone with a face knows that bad eye brows equal a bad time. So there’s Bad Thing #1.

Next day, we get up early and make our flight in time. Everything is going smoothly. My sisters came with me and we always fight. But I guess the excitement of seeing Taylor kept us in a good mood. So, we land in Dallas and o call to confirm my rental (just to be EXTRA sure) and the dude says there’s no reservation for me for that day even though I paid for it over the phone when I booked. He said he’d return my money. Uh! I need a car! So, now we have to bust out money for an Uber. There’s Bad Thing #2.

Finally we figure out how to work Uber (we never used it before because is not available in our town) and we get to our hotel. We got a good rate for a night, so when the receptionist tells me to hand my card over and she will be charging me TRIPLE what I booked the room at, I flipped out. Bad Thing #3. (Side note: after yelling like a psychotic mother we got our room at the price I initially booked it at, but still. It took some arguing and embarrassment.)

We finally get ready and head over to the AT&T Stadium. Got there just in time with a few minutes before doors open, and didn’t even have to wait in the heat for long before we got in. FINALLY WE’RE HERE and it’s such a relief! We get in line to buy merch and the whole time the family behind us are talking about how ridiculous it is that a whole group of 4 girls are in front of them. (We were that group.) Why, I don’t know. The lines were long everywhere, and to say that lines existed at all is a lie. It was a crowd of people pushing and shoving trying to get to the front. And for some reason, it was OUR fault for the huge crowds and unidentifiable lines. Standing in line with a obnoxious parent behind us brings us to Bad Thing #4.

We get to our seats and are enjoying the environment, you know, getting hyped for Charlie XCX to come out. We were on the side where people are going back and forth from back stage to the front, so we try to get their attention in hopes of getting upgraded to the pit. A group in front of us got upgraded by chance and we were a bit upset because they were just sitting there on their phones and we were actually enjoying ourselves. The same man that upgraded them came up to us and told us he’d be back to get us in to the pit. We were EXCITED. We were actually going to get to be in the pit! He said he’d return so we waited.. and waited... and waited... he never returned. We were heart broken! Just our luck I guess. Bad Thing #5.

Charli XCX comes out and she was great! We didn’t know all her songs but her set was great and I loved her energy. Crowd was so loud already; I couldn’t wait for Taylor any longer. Suddenly three girls drink out of their minds pile into one seat next to me and are bumping and grinding on themselves - and on me - while Charli is performing and it kills my mood big time. I don’t know why or how they got away with that, but they did. As soon as her set was done, they disappeared. But they managed to leave behind their beer all over my shoes. Great. Bad Thing #6.

Camila is next and my sisters and I agree to ignore what happened and not let it ruin the night. Camila comes out and two of the three girls come back. One of the girls seems a bit out of it, but we don’t let her keep our attention. Camila was soooo great I loved her set so much! You can see her emotion during her performance and just how passionate she is about her music. I loved her! During her last song, I felt a huge hit in my thigh and look to see it’s the girl that was completely out of it. Her head. Was on. My. Freaking. Thigh. What in the world?! I pushed her off only to realize she is passed out wasted. Bad Thing #7.

During the intermission between Camila & Taylor, this girl is making a scene for herself. Her friend is telling her to eat or drink something, but she won’t budge. I’m livid. Is this really going to be the person that ruins what I’ve been looking forward to for the past year!? Her friend is yelling now. “Get up!! What the fuck are you doing?! I hate you! GET UP!” You guessed it people, this girl was on the floor. Our entire section is freaking out. Security is now surrounding this girl. She isn’t awake anymore, but she isn’t asleep either. Security told us that as soon as she stands up we need to tell them so the can escort her out immediately. Once security leaves, the functioning girl full on BEGS us not to call them because she loves Taylor and blah blah blah. I wasn’t having it. So this mess of a scene is Bad Thing #8.

The group behind me taps my shoulder and says to me - jokingly, “you’re on baby sitting duty tonight!” Uh, what? Hell no I’m not. I quickly responded “she’s moot my friend and I didn’t pay $200 to watch some one that can’t handle alcohol” and they gasp. What did they want me to say, yesill watch her? HELL NO. Anyway, Taylor comes out -FINALLY. We see her right as she walks into the stage then the lights go down and we’re screaming for Taylor. The moment is finally here! I’m looking forward to the intro because it is ICONIC. I press record on my phone and 20 seconds in I hear and feel it all over my legs and feet. Yup, she just vomited. All over me. I’m PISSED at this point I could punch her in the face. I missed the whole intro. Her friend is yelling I HATE YOU STUPID BITCH and yelling at me PLS DONT CALL SECURITY. What was I supposed to do!? Bad Thing #9.

Taylor was amazing. Breathtaking show. It was literally sooooo perfect. & I love to record everything so I couldn’t wait to replay the show when I got to the hotel room. After an hour of repetitive Uber cancellations (Bad Thing #10), we finally get to our room. I’m looking for my favorite performances of Taylor so I can post, and in every single video you can hear this girl yelling at her drunk friend about how much she hates her. Every! Single! Video! I have no good content except for my memory. Bad Thing #12.

Next morning (today) we miss our flight because someone in our flight security line was making a scene. Greaaaat. They couldn’t let us go and handle the man on the side? Nope. They make countless people miss their flights. Bad Thing #13.

So now I’m writing thing long post because we’re on stand by for the remainder of the day praying we get to go home today. I just want this weekend to end. I miss my kids!!! If you got this far down my post, I’m going to assume you’re bored, or you are evil and find humor in the awful weekend I’m still experiencing. I’ll feel better when I’m home!!!

[livinginbutterflyfields]

Wanna One in KL Experience

Okay, so these few days we’ve been seeing lots (and lots) of people saying over how the fanmeet was a mess (I’d have to admit it was) so here is my take on the issue. I was one of the few lucky people who had managed to secure the tickets to the fanmeet. I was a fan due to Produce 101 and I’ve never went to a Kpop concert before so fortunately I was able to secure my ticket to the fanmeet. From the start of the event launching of the tickets itself, it was just a bunch of mess, really. Trust me, there was so much “tea’ surrounding this whole event that I’ll spill it up here. The organiser I** (Google ‘em up) in my opinion, was just nothing but a greedy company. During the manual ticket launching, there were some ‘incidents’ such as the queue number being rigged up due to ‘unknown technical problems’ which was….you guess what? There were some people who managed to cut the manual queue off and thus, they were able to purchase the tickets ‘earlier’ from those who stayed and waited for the usual manual queue system. And interestingly, my friend who went to purchase the tickets manually said that the ticket limit per person is ONLY 5 (FIVE) tickets but hey, magically those ‘people’ who managed to cut the manual queue went out with probably a stack (yes I repeat, a stack) of the tickets themselves. HAHAHA (see the irony here?) Oh, and those ‘people’ (scalpers) were the ones re-selling the tickets at ridiculous prices lmao

And yes, due to that the tickets were sold out exceptionally fast (and also cause WannaOne’s popularity isn’t a joke)so a lot of fans (both local Msians and international fans) were complaining on how it was a mess during both the manual ticketing and online ticketing as well. Oh, and surprisingly the ticket price for the Malaysian fanmeet were among the cheapest for the Wanna Be Loved Asia Tour, which explains why there were so much international fans buying the tickets as well. I’d say the proportion between the international fans and the local fans are so imbalanced that it didn’t make sense. Like really, this was our only chance to meet the boys so why did you guys do this to us really (T_T)

Fast forward to the fanmeet day itself. Me and my friends reached the Stadium Negara around 4pm++ and lo and behold, it was really, really,really crowded and cramped. Merchandises are everywhere so we went strolling around the area to see what they were selling. I remembered encountering this lady who sold the official lightstick aka NableBong for RM239 :O So in the end, my friend bought a few merchandises and I bought only a Minhyun transparent fan ( it was a struggle to control the urge to buy heh). And yes, I even saw a few Korean fansites who brought along their luggages and even set up stalls (I see what you did there hun). In the official announcement made by the organiser, the queue gate were supposed to open at 6PM but on the day itself, we were only given access inside the stadium around 6.30PM tsktsk. The security weren’t really strict though. And the issue on some of the fansites smuggling their big-ass cameras inside their clothes were true (yep there was a video exposing them circulating on SNS) but I didn’t manage to witness that. And then we went inside the stadium. My seat was at CAT1 zone which surprisingly provided quite a good view of the boys and it was a numbered seated zone so I don’t have trouble with people stealing my place and stuff (whew thank God). 

My ticket and also my Minhyun fan who unfortunately fell due to my carelessness T_T

The stadium itself wasn’t big although it was an indoor stadium. And the stage layout of the fanmeet was also an issue sigh. The stage itself was quite small which a lot of people were complaining even before the fanmeet actually started. And the capacity for the Rockzone was ridiculous really! The Rockzone were supposed to only fit around the maximum capacity of 2000 people but on when we went inside, it looked like zombies fighting inside the Rockzone (I’m sorry but it really looked like that) The people at the Rockzone area were really crazy though. So before the fanmeet actually started they showed and played Beautiful and Energetic repeatedly which we were all singing together while waiting for the boys to come out. I was secretly expecting that they’d play Burn It Up during the waiting time but nope, there was none (again screw you I**)

Then the fanmeet started as the boys went out and performed Energetic. The crowd went really ridiculously crazy and I swore that was the first time I felt like both my ears are gonna turn deaf soon from the wild screaming T_T. Next they performed Beautiful. When the boys came out, I saw the people in the middle of the Rock Zone were pushing each other and causing quite a commotion which resulted in a mini(?) stampede. It was really horrifying to see people getting pulled away to the back, looking really weak. Some of them fainted cause I saw the safety and first-aid crew were carrying them to the back for immediate help. When the boys were performing Beautiful, it looked like a wave(?) struck the middle of the crowd in Rockzone which were really horrifying. I was trying my best to enjoy the performance (albeit the screaming and such) but I couldn’t because I felt kinda stuffy and halfway through the performance, I saw a few of them who got pulled away to the back was crying and even wailing in hurt. That was a sad view, really. One of them who fainted threw up so yeah. I kinda noticed that when they were performing Beautiful, a few of the members actually glanced over to the back (couldn’t remember who) to see what was going on because it was quite a number of them who got pulled away to the back of the Rockzone crowd. It was a disaster.  

Then it was time for the boys to introduce themselves. I couldn’t really hear them well due to fans shrieking and stuff (my ears T_T) It was up until Baejin (Jinyoung) wanted to introduce himself then the fanmeet was halted (poor boy couldn’t even introduce himself properly). So the show had to be halted for a while due to the commotion at the middle of the Rock Zone so the boys decided to went backstage while waiting for the commotion to calm down.  First, the MC tried calming down the situation but it didn’t worked and even Daehwi had to intervene and said something like “Someone got hurt over there”. Sungwoon, Jisung, Daniel even tried gesturing to them to calm down but well, nothing would’ve worked for those selfish,stubborn headed people lmao

And this.is.where.more.chaos.unfolded.in front of my eyes. When the boys decided to went backstage, a lot of them were shrieking and shouting like mad people in which I swore I had to cup my ears to save them (T_T) Then the MC took charge and said if we weren’t cooperating we might cause further problems aka delay of the event. The MC tried his best to calm down by announcing in Chinese, English and even Malay. Even the translator had to announce in Korean for the Korean fansites to cooperate tsktsk. The delay started around 8.20PM (I kept glancing at my phone to keep track hehe) The view and situation at RockZone were really bad it gave me goosebumps seeing how greedy and selfish fangirls can sometimes be. So, the crew and security asked them to move back to give space but alas, stubborn headed people wouldn’t listen -.-. So those people finally started sitting and moving to the back after almost an hour(?) Oh, since I was sitting at the CAT1 area I had a good view of what was going on at RockZone area and there was this one time those sitting were even chanting for them to ‘SIT DOWN’ because we didn’t want to delay the fanmeet even further.

Now here is the real view of the Rockzone~

And because it took them so long for the security to make those stubborn people to sit down, even the police got involved ugh. I remembered when the police officer announced that they were from Malaysian PDRM Unit, some of them were even booing(/?) at the officers. I was like “ARE YOU KIDDING FOR REAL?! THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT THE TIME FOR YOU TO BE ACTING LIKE THIS. Then when the officer said “we might have to cancel the event if you guys do not cooperate” again everyone starting shrieking so there goes another blasphemy for my ears. So with the help of the police, finally everyone started to settle down after around an hour. I also saw some international fans being whisked away by the police due to their stubbornness. BUT it doesn’t stop there. When we were all settled down after more than an hour, we were somehow left in the dark, wondering when will the fanmeet resume and such. During the delay, the crew were distributing water bottles and such for the fans while waiting for the boys. My friends were kinda tired (due to screaming and getting excited haha) while I was mainly tired from waiting and since I had a flu on the fanmeet day itself I didn’t really have the energy to shout.  This is where I had a gut feeling that some of the segments of the fanmeet were going to be cut short due to the long delay. We were left in the dark for another half an hour approximately and we were even chanting “Mianhae/Sorry” for the boys. Pretty sure they heard it though. So after and hour and a half the fanmeet resumed. And yeap, my intuition never lies. The boys went back upstage and performed Wanna Be and settled down for the talk segment.

Now, this is where I really noticed that the members seemed especially shocked and baffled. Guanlin, especially was looking really distressed because it was just so obvious he didn’t looked too happy over what has happened earlier. I was searching for Minhyun who was at the far left from my side (CAT1 area) and his expression didn’t make it up either. Jisung again emphasised that safety should always be the main priority (He is indeed a really sweet person) and the crowd went “aww” for a while lol. I tried glancing over to all the members and most of them weren’t looking like their usual selves. Jaehwan, who we all know is usually loud and expressive, he looked tired and remained quiet.Woojin had his poker face on while Jihoon kept glancing towards the fans,probably to check up on them. Same goes to Ong, he had this puzzled(?) expression so the fanmeet mood was dampened for a little bit. The talk segment resumed with the usual Q&A session questions about whether they had a great time here in Malaysia and such. Jaehwan replied he had a lot of unforgettable moments here in Malaysia (IDK if he meant it in a good way or instead) but hopefully they’ll only remember the good memories. Then it was time to play some games but it all felt too rushed due to the delay caused. I also noticed that Daniel, Ong and Sungwoon tried their best to mask their expressions but I can tell they’re faking their smiles,expressions and such.

Next, it was time to celebrate Daehwi’s birthday and this is where another drama unfolded. Apparently the MC said that it was his idea to include the celebration for Daehwi and at that time, I felt like smacking his head cause the project came from the courtesy of Malaysian Wannables (like um,hello give us some credit too). Oh, he even mixed up Daehwi and Daniel’s name cause he made a mistake when announcing the birthday celebration (facepalms) When the staff carried the cake, it turned out to be a whole different cake than what the Malaysian Wannables had prepared for Daehwi. The original cake that we had prepared for Daehwi was a purple fondant cake but somehow the cake that was onstage were of a chocolate cake(?) I was really dumbfounded knowing that (I**you’re such a SNAKEEEE) but alas the show had to go on. We sang Happy Birthday in a Korean Version to Daehwi and Baejin was holding the cake and he teased Daehwi to throw the cake in his face (aww cutiepies). Then they continued with Nayana (which is one of my fav song) and Always. When they sang Always, we held up the handbanner which showed ‘ 항상네옆에있을께’ (Always Be Beside you) and the crowd sang along together. It was a warm fuzzy feeling heh. The boys looked rather sad while singing Always and I swear I saw Daehwi trying to hold himself from crying.  Then, the MC announced that it was time to say goodbye and everyone shrieked..again. So the boys did their final goodbyes and this.is.where. I saw Guanlin wiping his eye! I hope he wasn’t blaming himself for whatever happened. So they went backstage, and everyone started chanting “ENCORE!ENCORE!ENCORE!” so they came out after a few mins and performed Never. I’ve been waiting for them to perform Never so it was like a miracle seeing them performing Never. Never will always, always hold a special spot in my heart since it was my favourite song ever. Ah, and a funny anecdote: Remember during Wanna One Go Season 1, they edited Jaehwan’s laugh into his adlib for Never? (The one where they rode the Viking and Jaehwan screamed like hell) When Jaehwan’s adlib part was near, I had the audacity to imagine his Viking scream during the adlib part AHAHA! Mentally slapped myself after that tsktsk.  And Burn it Up followed after. During this time, the stage  had this fire-like props which made the stage looked extremely pretty and it got me in awe. Then it was the real goodbye since it was already past 11PM. They did their goodbye greetings (for real) and the fanmeet ended. And when we walked out from the stadium it was quite a messy sight to behold because I saw a lot of the handbanners from Malaysian Wannables Union were scattered everywhere and rubbish also (Minhyun would’ve fainted tbh)

The handbanner from Malaysian Wannables Union!

So, basically what I’ve learned and also observed:

-Management plays an extremely, super (wanjeon,jinjja,reol,daebak heol) important role especially in handling these events. Bad management seems to be the main reason behind the chaos. Overly-excited (plus stubborn) fans during these type of event isn’t an uncommon situation thus the management should’ve prepared a backup(?) plan just in case it happens again. Oh, also PLEASE PLEASE PRIORITISE LOCAL FANS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL FANS GAWDD

-Fans (local or international), especially international fans: Please, PLEASE WHEREVER YOU GO, please keep your manners INTACT. DO NOT STALK THE BOYS/INVADE THEIR PRIVACY. I’m sure you won’t like it either if other people were to taint your country’s image huh?

EDIT: The boys arrived in Malaysia 5 days before the actual fanmeet itself, and unfortunately they got stalked/followed/harassed by the fans following them (both local and international fans). I’m just disappointed with those people, really. GIVE THEM THEIR SPACE AND PRIVACY. DO NOT INFRINGE THESE RIGHTS EVER. And about the fansites getting arrested in Malaysia, you guys should know better than to use a tourist visa and selling goods and merchandises illegally. 

So, overall I’d say I didn’t really enjoyed the fanmeet itself and since it was my first ever Kpop concert, it really took a toll on my expectations due to what has happened. But if the boys are coming back again here, I wish this kind of history wouldn’t repeat itself. Will I go to another Kpop concert again? Maybe.

I’m not taking anyone’s side neither do I blame anyone though. But there’s always two sides to a story :))) You choose which side would you want to believe.

So, this was my take on the fanmeet itself. I hope you had a good time reading it! 

[ts1989fanatic]

Major Markets Only Reputation Tour:

I hate writing anything negative this early into a new era, but the Reputation era has started out with a lot to be negative about. Starting with the tour dates announced so far, basically if you don’t live within reach of the major markets they have announced then like lot’s of others in this fandom you’re SCREWED.

All stadiums no smaller arena venues, ticket prices through the roof,(still some debate on this right now) I guess they are going with the option of higher tour earnings by charging more and playing larger venues more fans in seats but fewer shows needed to out perform 1989.

Do I sound BITTER probably because I am a little I’m in Canada, Western Canada to be precise and saw the 1989 tour in Vancouver BC this time around the only tour date announced for Canada is Toronto Ontario.

I was looking back over the show locations for the 1989 tour and comparing them to those for Reputation, there are ZERO small market venues on this tour. Outlined below are all the tour dates and venues for the 1989 World tour, as you can see Canada went from 8 shows in 5 locations to 2 shows in 1 location.

Europe also looks like they are getting screwed over the number of show dates and locations, 1989 World tour 8 shows in 6 locations to 3 shows in 3 locations.

And before y’all who live in the US start telling me to chill out there will probably be more tour dates announced, that’s great IF IT HAPPENS. It does not help me start to think about budgeting for tickets travel hotel etc. I’m pretty sure that this is something that does not only apply to me.

And don’t even get me started on the boosts that don’t mean spit to me as far as helping me get better seating options, that was a waste of time for lot’s of people from what I have read.

1989 World Tour Dates and Venues:

May 5,6, 2015 Tokyo JapanTokyo Dome

May 15, 2015 Las Vegas United States City of Rock

May 20, 2015 Bossier City CenturyLink Center

May 22, 2015 Baton Rouge LSU Tiger Stadium

May 30, 2015 Detroit Ford Field

June 2, 2015 Louisville KFC Yum! Center

June 3, 2015 Cleveland Quicken Loans Arena

June 6, 2015 Pittsburgh Heinz Field

June 8, 2015 Charlotte Time Warner Cable Arena

June 9, 2015 Raleigh PNC Arena

June 12,13, 2015 Philadelphia Lincoln Financial Field

Europe

June 19,20, 2015 Cologne Germany Lanxess Arena

June 21, 2015 Amsterdam Netherlands Ziggo Dome

June 23, 2015 Glasgow Scotland SSE Hydro

June 24, 2015 Manchester England Manchester Arena

June 27, 2015 London Hyde Park

June 29,30, 2015 Dublin Republic of Ireland3Arena

North America

July 6, 2015 Ottawa Canada Canadian Tire Centre

July 7, 2015 Montreal Bell Centre

July 10, 11,2015 East Rutherford United States MetLife Stadium

July 13,14, 2015 Washington, D.C. Nationals Park

July 18,19, 2015 Chicago Soldier Field

July 24,25, 2015 Foxborough Gillette Stadium

August 1, 2015 Vancouver Canada BC Place

August 4,5. 2015 Edmonton Rexall Place

August 8, 2015 Seattle United States CenturyLink Field

August 14,15, 2015 Santa Clara Levi's Stadium

August 17,18, 2015 Glendale Gila River Arena

August 21,22,23,24,25,26, 2015 Los Angeles Staples Center

August 29, 2015 San Diego Petco Park

September 4, 2015 Salt Lake City EnergySolutions Arena

September 5,6, 2015 Denver Pepsi Center

September 9, 2015 Houston Minute Maid Park

September 11,12,13, 2015 Saint Paul Xcel Energy Center

September 16, 2015 Indianapolis Bankers Life Fieldhouse

September 17,18, 2015 Columbus Nationwide Arena

September 21,22, 2015 Kansas City Sprint Center

September 25,26, 2015 Nashville Bridgestone Arena

September 28,29, 2015 St. Louis Scottrade Center

October 2,3. 2015 Toronto Canada Rogers Centre

October 8, 2015 Des Moines United States Wells Fargo Arena

October 9, 2015 Omaha CenturyLink Center Omaha

October 10, 2015 October 12, 2015 Fargo Fargodome

October 17, 2015 Arlington AT&T Stadium

October 20, 2015 Lexington Rupp Arena

October 21, 2015 Greensboro Greensboro Coliseum

October 24, 2015 Atlanta Georgia Dome

October 27, 2015 Miami American Airlines Arena

October 31, 2015 Tampa Raymond James Stadium

Asia

November 7,8, 2015 Singapore Singapore Indoor Stadium

November 10,11,12, 2015 Shanghai China Mercedes-Benz Arena

Oceania

November 28, 2015 Sydney Australia ANZ Stadium

December 5, 2015 Brisbane Suncorp Stadium

December 7,8 2015 Adelaide Adelaide Entertainment Centre

December 10,11,12, 2015 Melbourne AAMI Park

Reputation World Tour Dates and Venues:

North America

May 8, 2018 Glendale United States University of Phoenix Stadium  May 12, 2018 Santa Clara Levi's Stadium May 18,19, 2018 Pasadena Rose Bowl  May 22, 2018 Seattle CenturyLink Field May 25, 2018 Denver Sports Authority Field at Mile High  June 1,2, 2018 Chicago Soldier Field 

Europe

June 8, 2018 Manchester England Etihad Stadium TBA June 15, 2018 Dublin Ireland Croke Park June 22, 2018 London England Wembley Stadium

North America

June 30, 2018 Louisville United States Papa John's Cardinal Stadium TBA July 7, 2018 Columbus Ohio Stadium July 10, 2018 Landover FedExField  July 14, 2018 Philadelphia Lincoln Financial Field  July 17, 2018 Cleveland FirstEnergy Stadium July 20,21, 2018 East Rutherford MetLife Stadium  July 27,28, 2018 Foxborough Gillette Stadium August 3,4, 2018 Toronto Canada Rogers Centre August 7, 2018 Pittsburgh United States Heinz Field August 10,11, 2018 Atlanta Mercedes-Benz Stadium August 14, 2018 Tampa Raymond James Stadium August 18, 2018 Miami Hard Rock Stadium  August 25, 2018 Nashville Nissan Stadium August 28, 2018 Detroit Ford Field  September 1, 2018 Minneapolis U.S. Bank Stadium September 8, 2018 Kansas City Arrowhead Stadium  September 15, 2018 Indianapolis Lucas Oil Stadium  September 18, 2018 St. Louis The Dome at America's Center September 22, 2018 New Orleans Mercedes-Benz Superdome September 29, 2018 Houston NRG Stadium October 6, 2018 Arlington AT&T Stadium 

I don’t know who’s to blame for this fracking mess and frankly I don’t care, all I know is that as an International Swiftie I along with millions of other International swifties feel like Second Class Swifties.

[davewakeman]

2 Thoughts On Sports Business, Tickets, and Live Entertainment Right Now

Like a lot of folks, I’m curious about how long this shutdown in life is going to be and what the implications of this battle with the coronavirus is going to mean for our country going forward.

As a big Peter Drucker fan, I’m also not inclined to sit around and just wait for things to come my way, I’m keen to take action based on where I am today and the “future that has already happened.”

So I want to share a two things with you today about what I think the future of the world of tickets and entertainment heads.

What does the new normal look like? 

A lot of the conversations I have had over the last 10-14 days have had a general direction of, “back to normal” or “live events will come roaring back.”

My thinking is: “what if that isn’t true?”

Out of any big change, a new reality is born.

One executive I spoke with highlighted the reality that since the 2008 financial crisis, the market for tickets and live events hasn’t ever recovered. Or, the recovery has been in fits and starts.

And, as we deal with a health crisis and a financial one, we are not doing our jobs if we don’t ask ourselves what the new normal will really look like.

There was a book that I read around 2010, I believe, called This Time Is Different. 

The book talked about, if I am remembering correctly, the folly of how each financial crisis looks incredibly similar and how prognosticators are always telling you that it is entirely unique.

Which, I guess, is a valid point even if I am missing the key takeaway from the book.

The point being that we are all likely trying to wrap our head around things in a way that is comforting, even if we were unhappy with the way things were going, with getting back to normal.

Why?

Because normal we can deal with, am I right?

The uncertainty is unsettling, absolutely.

But how can we be realistic in looking at this time of crisis and think through what the implications are going to be?

To create a complete thought around this likely requires an entire book, but I think it begins by questioning the assumptions that have held us up for the last decade or so and to question what we are dealing with, how it will change us, and what that means.

For the world of entertainment and tickets, I’ll point to three things I’m thinking about:

How is this virus and the economic impact of it changing us? 

First, it is obviously making us cautious about crowds in a lot of ways.

Second, being physically distant from others is strange.

Third, the financial repercussions are likely to be harmful to a lot of folks and we were already in an environment where people were being priced out of events and entertainment in a lot of ways.

1. Does this crisis change our business models?

One thing I know for sure is that most of the growth in the live entertainment business the last few years has been heavily weighted on the fact that certain events or sections were able to command much larger prices.

Why is that?

Consolidation, secondary market, corporate buyers, and more. But the financial impact of the crisis is likely to change that dynamic…how does that change our business models?

2. What are our non-customers doing? 

Let’s face it, using any metric you’d like, most folks aren’t our customer. In fact, I think it is safe to say that if you look at most events and entertainment options, the market share is incredibly small.

Why?

An incomplete list includes:

Value

Price

Marketing

Access

The reality is that before this crisis, 90%+ of folks in America likely weren’t paying attention to Major League Baseball at all. For that matter, the NBA, the NHL, MLS, or, minus the Super Bowl, the NFL.

Why?

This question and answer becomes much more important going forward because no matter what a crisis, economic or health, changes us. It changes how we engage with the world and it changes what we value, at least in the short term.

Does this mean folks will rush back to ballparks, arenas, and stadiums? Or, does rushing back into the community and finding ways to come together and be around people mean that folks are going to rush into parks, community gatherings, or other places?

Community has always counted: 

I’ve been preaching about the need to make our events and our buildings community gatherings for years.

I always felt like this was important because it brought out the best in folks and it elevated our shows, theatre, and sports to a point where they were visceral and positive expressions of the human condition.

Over the years, for a lot of reasons, this sense of community has been eroding.

It still exists in certain places like a Pearl Jam concert, a baseball stadium when your team is on a playoff run, or, even in the way that folks will stand online in Central Park to get tickets to see the annual summer Shakespeare in the Park shows.

When the entertainment world comes back, and it will, I think we have to rethink the value proposition of what we are doing and selling.

Last year, several Major League Baseball teams ran promotions for ultra-discount tickets that sold out the stadiums and brought a sense of connection and joy to the in-stadium experience that was needed.

Going forward, as the shadow of this crisis fades, this joyful expression of community is going to be more important than ever before.

So going back to the drawing board of managing by spreadsheet and pricing in a way that is meant to squeeze every nickel out of a customer because you’ve got them trapped might not be a great idea.

In fact, the old story of Billy Graham, the concert producer, when he said something along the lines of “he could charge more for this ticket tonight, but what if the person didn’t have any money to come next Tuesday” is likely something we should all be thinking about more often.

Because our connections and our communities are likely to become a lot more important.

I want to share these two ideas with you now because they have helped me start to open up my thinking around pricing, selling, marketing, and other aspects of the live entertainment experience.

If you are looking for someplace to connect with folks in the industry, I’ve put together a Slack Channel with all kinds of different discussion areas and people you can bounce ideas off of. You can also get my weekly ticket newsletter, ‘Talking Tickets’ where I share 5 top stories and quick analysis and some action items.

  Please follow and like us:

2 Thoughts On Sports Business, Tickets, and Live Entertainment Right Now was originally published on Wakeman Consulting Group

[putschki1969]

♪ 10th Anniversary Live Q&A ♪

Kalafina will hold a special live to commemorate their 10th Anniversary. Here’s a comprehensive list of the most frequently asked questions. I’ll try my best to provide all the answers you might need. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions! Without further ado, here is the Q&A!

What’s the exact date of Kalafina’s 10th Anniversary Live? January 23, 2018 (Tuesday) Doors open: 17:30 Start: 18:30

Why is the concert on a weekday? Kalafina officially debuted with the release of their first single 「oblivious」 on January 23 2008. Their Anniversary Live will take place on their actual anniversary. This year, Jan 23 happens to be a Tuesday.

What’s the venue for Kalafina’s 10th Anniversary? Nippon Budōkan

How do I access Nippon Budōkan? The Nippon Budokan is located in Kitanomaru Park in the center of Tokyo, two minutes' walking distance from Kudanshita Subway Station (Hanzomon line, Tozai line or Toei Shinjuku line), and near the Imperial Palace and Yasukuni Shrine.

How many people can fit into Nippon Budōkan? The structure holds 14,471 people (arena seats: 2,946, 1st floor seats: 3,199, 2nd floor seats: 7,846, standee: 480).

Who are the supporting musicians for Kalafina’s 10th Anniversary Live? Guitar: Korenaga Koichi; Drums: Sato Kyoichi; Bass: Takahashi “Jr.” Tomoharu; Konno Hitoshi Strings (1st Violin: Konno Hitoshi, 2nd Violin: Todo Masahiko, Viola: Ikuno Masaki, Cello: Nishikata Masaki); Keyboards: Sakurada Hirotaka; Flute: Akagi Rie; Percussion: Nakajima Obawo; Accordion: Kato Kanako; Manipulator: Oohira Yoshio

Where do all the news regarding the live get announced? Either on the Harmony page, via Harmony Mail Magazine or on Kalafina’s LINE blog. Past Anniversary Lives were exclusive to fan club members so news usually didn’t get announced publicly (i.e. on the LINE blog). However, it is VERY likely that the upcoming 10th Anniversary will be open to non-members as well so I guess infos will be announced on all important pages this time around. In any case, I will keep you updated on ANY kind of news so be sure to follow my blog! Seriously! I won’t keep anything secret from you. If I get any news, YOU will be the first one to know!  〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→

https://putschki1969.tumblr.com/

Is the live gonna be for fan club members only? [CONFIRMED] NO, as I said in my answer for the previous question, I very much doubt it. In my opinion there are three things that argue in favour of a live open to everyone. #1: The live was announced very early on publicly on the LINE blog and in various news articles. #2: Budōkan is a huge venue, I don’t think there are even enough fan club members to fill the entire stadium. #3: Non-members are allowed to take part in the “What songs do you want to hear?-Poll”. Edit: As expected, the live is NOT gonna be for fan club members only!

Are tickets available already? No. The live is still FIVE months away. It’s very unusual for Kalafina concert tickets to go on sale this early before the actual live date. Please be patient a little while longer.

Will tickets even be “on sale”? How does the ticket system work? The ticket system in Japan is VERY complex. The term “on sale” doesn’t really apply when it comes to getting your hands on a Kalafina concert ticket. Since previous anniversary lives were for fan club members only, there was never an actual sale, just one or two rounds of fan club lotteries (I do realise that the term “lottery” is a little misleading. Yes, it is a lottery and yes, you “win” a ticket but please don’t misinterpret this, you STILL have to pay for it!). Here’s how the ticket system works for a “regular” concert. 〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→ Fan club members always have priority in applying for tickets. Kalafina fan club ballots are usually held on an external ticketing site but you will require a special code to access the ballot, details of the entire process will be sent to FC members via mail. Ballot results are sent at a later date. For previous lives there were two rounds for “Fiction Junction Club” lotteries. With the launch of “Harmony” we now have a “Harmony” lottery (Harmony members do have priority!!), followed by a “FJC” lottery. Entry periods for ballots are usually between 1 to 2 weeks (note: they can be shorter/longer). The basic premise is that a major part of the tickets is reserved for fan club members and the remainder goes to public sales. The public sale almost always starts with a pre-balloting (multiple rounds possible) and eventually (if there’s anything left) tickets really go “on general sale” and it’s all about first come first serve.

How to apply for tickets? This is the hard part. For all the above mentioned steps you will need AT LEAST TWO things: A Japanese address and a Japanese phone number. In addition to that, you’ll obviously need a fan club membership for the preceding fan club lotteries. Ballots and sales for Kalafina concerts usually take place on this site: e-plus. Or you can try your luck at a conbini (convenience store) terminal. Most of the time payment options include credit cards but be careful! Often they don’t accept foreign credit cards. The only other option is to pay for the ticket at a conbini which can be rather troublesome if you don’t happen to live in Japan. Regarding the collection of the ticket: Usually the ticket/s will be sent to the Japanese address you entered around 2-1 weeks (or earlier) before the concert or you can choose to collect the ticket at a conbini (the options differ from concert to concert). But like I said, this kind of application only works if you have a Japanese address, a Japanese phone number (and usually a credit card issued in Japan). HERE is my very detailed tutorial on how to become a member of “Harmony”.  In short, you have two main options:

EITHER you have a friend living in Japan who is willing to help you out with all of the above things.

OR you make use of one of the many proxy services that will do all the hard work for you (in exchange for a lot of money of course). E.g. www.sosjapan.jp which will do pretty much everything for you. They will register for you under your name. They will provide an address. They will apply for lotteries/or buy tickets for you. They will buy goods from the online store for you. Estimate for membership registration: Harmony or FJC membership fee: 4000yen. Admission Fee: 1000yen. (Service Fee: 130yen). Agent Fee: 8000yen. + shipping to your home address which varies according to the method you opt for (usually around 2000yen). Their agent fee will be applied to pretty much all further activities such as buying tickets (or goods). Taking part in ballots is free, you are only charged the agent fee if you actually win, so you’ll pay the price of the ticket itself, the agent fee and the shipping fee to your address. This may sound quite expensive but they offer a reliable service and many Kala-fans use it. I’d say it’s definitely worth the extra 100 bucks. On a side note, you don’t have to use this service to become a member of Harmony. You can just use it to take part in the general pre-balloting but of course there’s a higher risk of not winning. (There are cheaper services than sosjapan but you’ll have to look for them and check whether or not they have good reviews; HERE’s a post where I talk about various proxy services)

When are tickets gonna be available? [CONFIRMED] I cannot say for certain. Things were a little different for previous anniversary lives. Take Kalafina’s 9th Anniversary for example, dates for the 2-Day Live weren’t announced until October 26! The first fan club lottery took place from 2016/11/15～11/23. The second round took place from 2017/1/12～2017/1/15 (VERY close to the actual concerts!). I am expecting something different for the 10th Anniversary. Here’s my best guess: the Harmony lottery entry will most likely begin in early to mid October at the latest. Infos for that might only be announced on the Harmony page. A FJC lottery will follow soon after (infos for that will be announced on the Spacecraft FJC page). Then we’ll get the pre-balloting for the general public (maybe with multiple rounds) and finally a general sale. That should give most of us enough time to prepare our trip to Japan. I don’t mind waiting till October to book my flight (I doubt prices will change much till then). I’ll start worrying if they haven’t announced ANYTHING by the end of October. Edit: General sale will start on November 25!!! Edit #2: The preceding ticket lottery for 「Harmony」 members will start on October 16!!! The lottery will last till October 24! Results will be revealed from Oct 27-Oct 29.

Are tickets from the fan club ballots personalised or labelled? Many people are worried abut buying those tickets on the re-sale market because they believe their ID will be checked and they won’t be able to get in without a membership card. Don’t worry, that won’t be the case as long as it is a concert open to the general public. When it comes to fan club members-only lives/events it’s different of course. The only time someone usually checks your membership card is if you wanna buy fan club exlusive merchandise.

How much is the ticket gonna cost? [CONFIRMED] Up to 8,000 yen I’d say. Previous Kalafina lives at Budōkan were around 7,800 to 7,900 yen. Nothing out of the ordinary for a Budōkan concert. A very reasonable price. Edit: Ticket prices have already been announced; All seats specified 7,800 yen!

I wanna sit front and center! Can I get a good seat? Simple answer. NO. Or rather, it’s all up to luck. Seats are ALWAYS assigned at random and you usually don’t find out your seat until MUCH later. Being a fan club member sadly DOES NOT guarantee good seats (in some cases it doesn’t even guarantee a seat at all!). As a fan club member you may still end up being seated all the way in the back. You can increase your chances by entering all fan club ballots (requires membership for both) as well as the general sale pre-balloting but you risk being stuck with and having to pay for more tickets than you actually need (you can always sell them of course). Which brings me to the only option you have if you wanna choose your seat: You have to buy the ticket on the re-sale market on various auction sites (e.g. Yahoo Auctions; Ticketcamp). All in all, this is probably the “easiest” option for all of you who don’t wanna deal with the “hassle” and extra costs of getting a fan club memberships etc. You’ll need a proxy service for the auction sites as well but it can be a much cheaper service like buyee (I can recommend that!) or something similar since bidding is a “simple” transaction that doesn’t really require a super high agent fee or anything. If you decide to bid at one of those auction sites you have the option to choose between various offers. The only downide: You have to pay a FORTUNE for your ticket. People will try to outbid you like nobody’s business. Expect to pay AT LEAST double of the original ticket price. Another downside is that you have to wait till people get their seat infos (because that’s when they start selling) so your trip preparations may be delayed. Also, this business is super shady and it’s best not to support it but I guess there’s not much else a desperate foreign fan can do...

Can I get more than one ticket (for a friend etc)? Yes, that’s very likely. For regular lives it’s usually possible to apply for more than one ticket at the lotteries. That’s how I got my tickets for the “Far on the Water Special Final”. A friend of mine who is a fan club member applied for two tickets and she won. Tickets are assigned at random but in this case you will be seated next to each other. Be aware that applying for more than one ticket MIGHT reduce your chances of winning (I actually have no proof for that but some fans seem to think so). Also, you can obviously bid for more than one ticket on the re-sale market.

Should I even join “Harmony” if there are so few advantages? We don’t have guarenteed good seats, sometimes (for exclusive lives/events) we don’t even have the guarantee of a seat at all. Why should I even bother to join? I am sure many of you ask yourself that question. Well, first of all, the annual fee of 4000 yen isn’t too bad, it’s actually quite cheap. And if you don’t continue your membership, it will automatically be cancelled. Also, taking part in the preceding lottery is a great bonus. It increases your chances of getting a ticket A LOT. Especially when it comes to regular concerts. That’s one big advantage for sure. Plus, we get a lovely newsletter/magazine four times a year. We get the chance to buy exclusive merch. The option to take part in exclusive event. And most importantly, I think it’s just about BEING PART OF THE CLUB. As a big fan it feels special to belong to their fan club and I am proud to call myself a member of “Harmony”. It may not mean much to others but i means a lot to me.

Will there be merchandise? How much is it gonna cost? I am expecting there to be a ton of merchandise! It’s their 10th Anniversary so they will probably come up with a lot of cool stuff. Maybe another Live History book? That would be really cool! Maybe another special feature like Kalafina Record or Kadokawa? Obviously there will be the usual stuff (pamphlet, postcards, towels, keychains, member produced goods, etc...). Expected price range: anything between 500~6000 yen (as per usual). Once again, we’ll probably get some premium goods (like the pocket watch, suitcase, wallet, music box etc) which will be VERY expensive but hey, those are high quality products so the price is definitely justified (most foreign fans will probably have trouble getting their hands on them anyways since you need to pre-order them and many months later they will be sent to you - only Japanese addresses are valid). I am also hoping for a special release (a nice DVD/BD or a lovely live album...) On a side note, I hope they open a Kalafina collab café again. And I also want “Kalafina Museum” exhibtions! I am praying to every deity out there that those things will take place in the week before the concert so I can actually go XD

Is the setlist gonna be released beforehand? No. Kalafina have always been very adamant about their setlist being a surprise. Even during tours, they try to be super secretive about the content of their lives in order to avoid spoilers for upcoming shows (obviously fans are still posting the setlists but at least you won’t be spoiled on any of the official Kalafina pages).

What are the chances of a certain song being sung? Well, it all depends on the results of this poll. Kalafina decided they would let their fans choose the songs of their setlist. So if you wanna influence the results and if you want them to perform a certain song, you’ll have to get a membership and actually VOTE for that song (as well as two others, or you can also choose the same song three times!). Non-members need to acquire an SC ID so they can vote for one song. You have time till Sep 15 to put in your vote so you better hurry! Many fans on twitter posted their votes and from what I could tell, most of them chose songs that are either rarely performed or ones that are all-time favourites like Hikari no Senritsu/Alleluia/Hikari Furu/sprinter etc...Of course there were others who voted for songs that aren’t exactly popular among foreign fans (e.g. misterioso) but they are well-beloved among the Japanese fanbase, so yeah... I haven’t seen everyone’s vote of course so it’s impossible to predict the outcome of this poll. However I do believe that chances of rarely performed songs making it to the setlist are higher than usual. Their Anniversary setlists have always been lovely and I doubt it’s gonna be any different for this one. Judging from earlier poll results for a special FJC live back in 2016 (FJC BEST 20 Part 2), it seems like fans have always voted for either rarely performed songs or their all-time faves.   Btw, here’s my vote.

#1. 002. 君が光に変えて行く (Kimi ga Hikari ni Kaete Iku) #2. 054. 屋根の向こうに (Yane no Mukou ni) #3. 023. lirica

One last thing! I am sure the girls will also pick a few songs that they definitely wanna perform (whether they are high up on the list or not, Ongaku and Oblivious come to mind). Plus, we’ll most likely get at least one song with accordion and one with flute or else they wouldn’t have invited Kato Kanako and Akagi Rie as supporting musicians.

Will the results of the poll be published? I guess. But certainly not before the concert is over.

Lastly....should I go to their 10th Anniversary or is it best to wait for other lives to be announced? I am sure Kalafina will hold other concerts in 2018 (and now that I have a job I am planning to attend at least one or two of them as well!!) so you’ll get plenty of opportunities to see them live. Also, maybe our dreams will finally come true and they end up announcing a world tour at their 10th Anniversary (a girl can dream, right? XD) Either way, it’s certainly not “necessary” to attend their 10th Anniversary live since it’s definitely not gonna be their last concert but in my opinion, it’s something VERY special and I wouldn’t wanna miss it for the world. I honestly see it as my duty as their hardcore fan to be there and share this special moment with the girls (but that’s just me XD)

All right, that’s it. I hope I was able to answer all of your questions. Thanks to everyone who sent asks or replied to my post. Also, congrats if you managed to read everything all the way to the bottom. If you are still confused about anything or if you feel like I didn’t provide answers to all possible questions, please be sure to let me know. However, please do me the favour of reading EVERYTHING carefully before asking away. I know it’s a lot to take in but it’s important you read all the answers to get the whole picture. 

[junker-town]

Which NFL team will be the next to relocate?

In the next 10 years, there are four teams that could hear relocation talks heat up.

Let’s establish one thing right away: No NFL team is loading up the moving trucks any time soon.

The dust has settled on a flurry of relocation chatter in the last five years or so, and now the Rams, Chargers, and Raiders all have (or will soon have) new homes. With those situations resolved, there are now no immediate stadium crises to fix.

The cities of San Diego, Oakland, and St. Louis probably won’t get replacement teams — not in the near future, at least — and there isn’t any huge prospective city lying in wait like Los Angeles was for two decades.

Eventually that’ll change. Stadiums will get old and leases will inch closer to expiration. The NFL is already prepping for that with “stadium credits” — essentially allotted money for constructions and renovations — reportedly a key issue in early collective bargaining agreement negotiations.

And at some point, when stadiums are in need of a replacement, a new city will emerge as a prime candidate to woo an NFL team. Hell, even Hartford, Conn. stepped up as a possibility back when the Los Angeles Rams decided to leave Southern California in the 1990s.

So which NFL team is the likeliest to pack up and leave next? I have a few guesses.

Buffalo Bills

Franchise relocations always happen because of stadium issues, and the Bills are at the top of the list of teams in need of a new place to play. New Era Field, previously known as Rich Stadium and Ralph Wilson Stadium, opened in 1973.

Only five teams — the Rams, Bears, Packers, Raiders, and Chiefs — are currently playing in older venues. The Rams and Raiders are scheduled to leave those stadiums behind after the 2019 season, while the other three have had significant renovation investments.

New Era Field had a $130 million renovation in 2012, but that pales in comparison to the funds that went into the stadiums in Chicago ($632 million in 2001-03), Kansas City ($375 million in 2007–10), and Green Bay ($295 million in 2001-03 and $312 million in 2011-15 ).

For the Bills to stay at their current home, they’d need that kind of cash infusion. The likelier solution is a new stadium altogether.

“I think the answer is probably a scaled-down version of some of these palaces that are being built around the country,” Bills owner Terry Pegula told reporters during the NFL owners’ meeting in March, via The Buffalo News. “The thing [Rams owner] Stan [Kroenke] is building in LA is amazing, Jerry Jones’ facility in Dallas. So we need to do something that’s Buffalo style.”

That’s about as perfect of an answer as Bills fans could possibly hope to hear. Pegula sounds like an owner committed to staying in Buffalo, and he seems realistic about making it happen without lavish demands. It’s part of the reason he was awarded the franchise in the first place after the death of former Bills owner Ralph Wilson.

“Ralph would have been pleased with the sale of the team to the Terry Pegula family, who has been so committed to Buffalo and the Western New York region,” then-controlling owner Mary Wilson said in 2014.

It’s all a genuinely good sign for Buffalo, but the little red siren came later in Pegula’s chat with reporters in March.

Asked if he would be willing to foot the bill for a new stadium, Terry Pegula said, “I don’t know.”

There’s the rub. Despite Erie County already setting aside $500,000 to begin saving for the cost of a new stadium, that’ll be a drop in the well.

The still-under-construction stadium in Los Angeles is approaching a $5 billion price tag. Even though the Bills won’t need nearly that much, the last NFL stadium to cost less than $1 billion to build was the Colts’ Lucas Oil Stadium, and that opened back in 2008.

So if the city of Buffalo balks at the idea of pledging a large amount of taxpayer money for a new stadium, it’s very plausible that another city would step in with an offer of its own. Most recently, Las Vegas offered a record $750 million in taxpayer money to the Raiders when the city of Oakland was hesitant to foot the bill for a new stadium. Toronto, give its ties and proximity to Buffalo, could be one possibility.

Until the Bills figure out where they will play and who will pay for it, a long-term future in Buffalo isn’t a sure thing.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars were once the poster child for poor fan support. In 2009, seven of eight home games were blacked out on local TV because they couldn’t sell enough tickets. Things have changed since, however. Tarps that covered upper deck seats have since been removed, and the Jaguars are now in the middle of the pack in attendance numbers.

The drum beat to relocate the team has quieted in the last decade, too.

Best of all for Jacksonville is that Shad Khan has invested in North Florida since becoming the team owner in 2011. He’s put state-of-the-art scoreboards, swimming pools, and an amphitheater, among other renovations, at TIAA Bank Field.

The bad news is that the stadium could use more upgrades. New Era Field in Buffalo is the only other NFL stadium currently in use that hasn’t been built or undergone at least $300 million in major renovations since 1995. It’s not quite a pressing need for the Jaguars, but it’ll continue to bubble up as they get closer to the 2029 expiration date on their lease with the city of Jacksonville.

You also can’t bring up the possibility of a Jaguars relocation without mentioning London. They currently play one game per year in the United Kingdom, which has boosted attendance in Jacksonville and marketed the Jaguars’ brand internationally.

That makes the the Jaguars an obvious favorite when the NFL talks up London as a candidate for an NFL team full-time. Still, a London franchise looks like a logistical nightmare, and the Jaguars insist it’s not their end goal.

“I know it frustrates Shad,” team president Mark Lamping said in 2018, via ESPN. “You don’t do the type of stuff of that’s he’s doing, you don’t invest the type of money that he’s investing, if you’re planning to leave.”

Like Pegula’s comments about Buffalo, Khan’s giving Jaguars fans positive vibes. There’s a similar issue brewing, though.

The Jaguars are nearing the point when they’ll ask for a lot of money from the city of Jacksonville and the expiring lease will give the team leverage. If the NFL and London are serious about a European franchise — or if a U.S. city comes with shiny new stadium plan — the pressure will be on Jacksonville to fight (and pay huge money) to keep the Jaguars.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Just about every reason the Jaguars could eventually relocate also applies to the Buccaneers.

The Jaguars’ TIAA Bank Field opened in 1995 and the Buccaneers’ Raymond James Stadium opened just a few years later in 1998. Tampa Bay recently poured about $160 million into renovations while Jacksonville paid around $180 million. The Buccaneers’ lease in Tampa Bay expires in 2028; the Jaguars’ lease expires in 2030.

Most of those factors would seem to paint the Buccaneers as the more likely of the two teams to move — especially considering Tampa Bay has been in the bottom five in NFL attendance in each of the last three years.

The Jaguars’ annual game in London and their push to market outside of Jacksonville may edge them a little higher on the list. But the Buccaneers have ties to England too.

The Glazer family owns both the Buccaneers and Manchester United of the English Premier League. Although they don’t have a yearly game overseas, more games outside of Tampa Bay are exactly what the Bucs attempted to secure while negotiating renovations of Raymond James Stadium. Via USA Today:

The Tampa Sports Authority (TSA), the county-funded agency in charge of the stadium, ultimately rejected the team’s demand for a second regular-season game abroad, conceding a number of preseason games instead.

Currently, the Bucs can play one regular season home game each year away from Raymond James Stadium, but starting in 2018, they will be able to play one regular season home game as well as one preseason home game away from Tampa. They can also play both preseason home games in 2016 and 2017 elsewhere if they choose.

It doesn’t necessarily mean the Buccaneers are angling to get out of Central Florida. They’ll just be asking for money from taxpayers as the end of their lease approaches like the other teams on this list. That can always go south.

Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals just celebrated their 50th birthday and they’ve been in Cincinnati since day one. They spent about three decades in Riverfront Stadium and moved into Paul Brown Stadium when it was built in 2000. It’s still the only NFL stadium to ever win an AIA Honor Award recognizing exemplary architecture and has managed to be a top facility despite minimal renovations.

The problem is the Bengals don’t do well in attendance. They’ve ranked near the bottom of the league in attendance for five straight seasons and only outdrew the Chargers in ticket sales in 2018. But the franchise’s recent good faith negotiation with the city of Cincinnati bodes well for its long-term outlook in the area.

Cincinnati wanted to rework its lease with the Bengals to build a concert venue on one of the stadium parking lots. After initial pushback, the team conceded. In the revised lease, the Bengals agreed to set a $42.3 million cap on contributions from the city for repairs and enhancements to Paul Brown Stadium through 2026. It eased up the costs of one of the most team-friendly leases in the NFL.

Now the city is trying to prep the stadium for the possibility of hosting FIFA World Cup games in 2026.

While the lease for the Bengals is expiring relatively soon, all indications are that they have a strong relationship with the city of Cincinnati. More renovations for Paul Brown Stadium could be on their agenda soon, but the Bengals walking out after the expiration of their lease looks, for now, like a long shot.

[habibharry]

So let me get this straight, harry should have a stadium tour in every major city and charge like $10 for tickets and invite the rest of 1d on tour, lol does that cover it? The entitlement everywhere is horrifying. The prices are quite reasonable, they're doing their best to avoid high costs through third party sellers, he's not even a month into his solo career and his album isn't out yet so it is a good business plan and also good for harry to start in smaller venues. Why is this even a debate

SKSJSJSH I'm p sure some people would still be complaining. I mean, people on this website claim that Harry's using​ Obama for promo, so nothing is too much for their debates I guess lmao

[simplyqf]

Just A Taste | Quinn & Sam

TAGGING → Quinn Fabray & Sam Evans LOCATION → Stars Stadium TIME FRAME → April 14, 2017 GENERAL NOTES → Chatzy para

Quinn was wrapping up a phone call as she entered the meeting room. "I look forward to meeting you too," she finished before she hung up. When she looked up, she realized that all eyes were on her. Lonnie narrowed her eyes at her, and Quinn gave her a shrug in response. "I'm last, not late," she reminded her before taking a seat next to her at the table. As Coach Renshaw started the meeting, Quinn stole a glance at Sam. She kind of regretted not letting him stay the night last night.

Sam let out a breath. He was still not cure on why he needed to be at this meeting, or why they needed the meeting to begin with. Sam was well aware of the fact that, yes, he had messed up, but he was paying the price, and he would do the same again, but he wasn't going to tell them why he had just left. Sam glanced over at Quinn, biting down on his lip, raising his eyebrows. He knew that Coach Renshaw was talking, and probably telling everyone that they needed Sam to do some more cleaning up of his image or come up with a good story to why he wasn't going to play the next couple of games. "I still don't get it," he said, as he heard his name, "I know I'm being punished why not just tell the press and fans the truth, they'll figure it anyway."

Quinn started to zone out at some point, although she still managed to glean bits of information from the ongoing conversation. "Sam missed enough games during his absence," she spoke up at last. "He shouldn't miss anymore. We need him on the field." She looked right at Coach Renshaw. "There's plenty of other ways to punish him, ways that could also benefit his image and the team's image," she told him, naming a few, "More volunteer work, giving tours of the stadium, doing meet and greets with fans..." Coach Renshaw seemed to mull over her ideas in his head. He would rather have Sam on the field than off. "Okay, Ms. Fabray," he responded finally. "I'll put you in charge of his punishment then. Moving on to the next item on our agenda..." Quinn zoned out again. Sam might not be happy with her because he wasn't exactly a fan of doing PR stuff, but hey, at least she'd kept him from missing anymore games.

Sam was surprised with how Quinn spoke up. He had counted on missing a few more games. Besides it wouldn't be that big of a deal, he could talk to Stacey and make sure that she was doing okay. His eyes moved to Quinn when she began to talk about other ways he could be punished, and he bit down on his lower lip, raising his eyebrows trying to get Quinn to look at him. A huff left his lips when he heard the different suggestions to what he could be doing instead of missing games, he didn't mind the meet and greets or the tours, as long as it was his choice. Sam leaned closer to Quinn, "So how do you plan on punishing me?" he asked, placing a hand on her thigh. "I can think of a couple of things I could enjoy."

Quinn She almost jolted out of her seat when she felt someone's hand on her thigh, relaxing a little when she realized who that hand belonged to. She did a quick glance around the room. Thankfully, no one else had heard him. "Uh huh," she acknowledged him. "I'm sure you could." She was trying not to let his touch and his words affect her. She was trying to keep her cool. They were in the middle of a meeting after all, and she was a professional. Quinn cleared her throat and jumped into whatever the current conversation at the table was. All she had to do was keep her mind on work, which was a lot harder than one would think with his hand on her thigh.

Sam He turned to Quinn, a smile on his lips, he was almost sure that he had gotten to her. "Yeah?" he asked, "maybe I should tell you about them," he whispered, he didn't really pay attention to what exactly was said, since Sam was sure that it didn't have to do with him. What he had needed to hear was something they had already covered. "So how long do I have to stay?" he asked looking around the room, his hand slowly moving over Quinn's thigh.

Quinn put her hand over his to keep him from going any higher. Any higher and she might not stay as professional as she'd like to be. "It's bad form to be the first to leave," she reminded him in a whisper as Lonnie shot her an inquisitive look from across the table. Quinn gave her an innocent smile, at least that was the smile she hoped she'd given her. Another 10 minutes passed before some of the players started to excuse themselves. Hopefully that meant that the meeting would be over soon.

Sam let out a small breath, shaking his head of course it wasn't going to be easy for him to leave, even if he wanted to, he wasn't going to the first to leave since he already was in trouble. A small breath left his lips, he would finally be able to leave since a few players ad also left. He looked at Quinn with a small smile, and he got, "Nice meeting everyone, I'm gonna hit the gym and be a good player," he said before he left, he was going to wait and see how long it would take before Quinn left the meeting, it couldn't be that long left.

Quinn had expected Sam to excuse himself as soon as he could. She wished she could excuse herself too, but the coach kept involving her in the conversation, which Lonnie was clearly unhappy about. Thankfully, Quinn managed to redirect his attention to Lonnie in the next few minutes, giving her an opening to leave. "I have another meeting I need to get to," she announced. "Have a great day, everyone." She gathered her things and left the room, starting to head toward her office. She wondered where Sam had gone off to, or was he really at the gym?

Sam glanced down on his phone. He had been sure that Quinn would have excused herself soon after he had. He had seen the minutes ticking by and he was getting tired of waiting. Maybe it had been a bad idea to wait for her, but he just needed a couple of minutes alone with her, just to see if she was free later. "Finally," he sighed when he spotted her. "I hate waiting and you need to work faster."

Quinn was about to smile when she spotted Sam, but then he started talking. He was so much more attractive when he kept his mouth shut. "Clearly, a little waiting didn't kill you, and until my boss has an issue with how fast I work, I will continue to do so at whatever pace I choose," she responded, walking past him and continuing toward her office. "Now did you want to talk about your punishment? I was thinking we could do a couple of meet and greets to start."

Sam decided to ignore her comment about her boss, it wasn't something he was interested in knowing, not now at least. A breath left his lips, and he raised his eyebrows looking at Quinn. "And here I thought you'd come up with a good punishment, something that I'd enjoy a lot more," Sam bit down on his lip. "But I guess some meet and greets can happen, so if I'm good at those," he leaned closer, "do I get reward or something, or maybe I can give you a private meet and greet, one that will be more one on one?" he said wiggling his eyebrows, a small smirk playing over his lips, "I've been told that I'm great at those."

Quinn unlocked her office door, heading inside and motioning for him to close the door behind him. She gave him an incredulous look. "When does a reward ever follow the completion of a punishment?" she asked him, her question rhetorical. She pretended to think. "A private meet and greet does sound nice. Does Nathan offer those?" she wondered out loud, her demeanour teasing. She closed the distance between them in one swift move. "Just kidding," she assured him, looping her arms around his neck. "So when can I get that one on one time? I'd like to experience for myself just how good you are at them." She brushed her lips lightly against his, her hand trailing down his chest. Her office was off-limits, which meant that they would both have to wait. Since he enjoyed waiting so much, Quinn thought she'd make it as torturous for him as possible.

Sam had been close to snapping at Quinn. He wasn't sure on why she always seemed to bring up Nathan, the guy was an ass, he never really showed it around most people, but he was. Sam would rather be known as the asshole and actually be nice when you got to know him. "You better be kidding," he replied, "but sure you can see if he offers one, I'm sure he would, but it would never be as good as the ones I offer," Sam said leaning closer, his arms wrapped around her waist. "Whenever you want, Fabray, whenever you want," he whispered, "I'm pretty sure you're the one setting most of my schedule," Sam winked at her. A small breath left when her lips brushed against his. He closed his eyes, just enjoying the feeling over her hand on his chest. "That wasn't enough," Sam said, eyes still closed, "you should move your hand lower, and come closer I got something for you."

Quinn laughed. She had no idea why Sam disliked Nathan so much. "How can you be sure?" she asked him. "Have you had one on one time with him before?" As Sam pulled her closer, all thoughts of Nathan disappeared from her mind. Oh, Sam was good, but thankfully, she still had some self control. "Tempting," she admitted before she reminded him, "However, we're currently in my office, which is off-limits, so..." She paused to give him a proper kiss, continuing after she'd pulled away, "...meet me at my place after work? I'll be done in..." She stole a glance at the clock on the wall. "...another three hours," she announced as her hand moved lower.

Sam almost glared at Quinn. The last thing he wanted was to talk about Nathan. "I don't do one on ones with guys," he replied, hands almost forming into fists. "All you gotta do is listen and you'll know," Sam replied, breathing a bit shallow. "One of the most selfish guys there is." If there was one thing Sam wasn't it was selfish, sure he preferred one night stands over relationships but it was something he was upfront about. "And who made that rule?" Sam asked, leaning closer, "and aren't rules supposed to be broken," Sam licked his lips, "I can teach you all about that," his hands running down Quinn's back. Sam closed his eyes, "three hours?" he asked, "I guess I can do that but you better make sure that you're free all night."

Quinn Yikes. Clearly, Sam disliked Nathan a lot more than she'd thought. "I did," she responded, her voice a little shaky. Thankfully, she was still able to hold her ground. "All night?" she echoed, raising an eyebrow at him. "That almost sounds like a challenge." She pulled him in for a parting kiss, one that would leave him to think about her for the next three hours. "See you tonight," she told him with a smile as she stepped away from him and went to sit behind her desk. "Close the door on the way out, would you? Thanks."

Sam nodded his head. A bit surprised about the fact that Quinn hadn't given in, he ad really oped she would. "Maybe it is," Sam replied licking his lips, "well maybe you won't be able to do all night, I know I can," he said as he leaned closer to her, "so do you wanna see if you can?" a smirk playing on his lips as he raised his eyebrows. A groan left his lips as Quin pulled away after the kiss. "Oh, you better, so your place?" he asked biting down on his lip. Sam closed the door behind him, a smile playing on his lips as he walked away from her office. He couldn't wait for tonight.

[fan-of-mulligan]

FOM BLOG: GILLINGHAM 1 - 0 CHARLTON ATHLETIC

My Thoughts On Gillingham V Charlton Athletic………………

I Left My House at 12.50PM in the afternoon and I made sure I had the following things on me,,,,,,,, (Money, Keys, My Gillingham Season Ticket, My Samsung Galaxy S2, Spare Battery, My Gillingham Jacket, Spare Lids, My Gillingham Scarf, My Gillingham Bag, Football Programmes, A Packet Of Polo’s, Pad and Pens, and a 500ML Bottle Of Coca Cola) - and I made sure I had everything on me before making the fifteen / twenty minute walk from my house to Rainham Train Station, and once I arrived at Rainham Train Station at 13.10PM, I brought My Return Train Ticket To Gillingham for £4, And just before leaving My House, I had posted the following status updates on Facebook And Twitter,,,, On My Way To Priestfield Stadium as Gillingham Take On Charlton Athletic, Hopefully, Gillingham can build on the draw in mid-week against AFC Wimbledon with a win today - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!

I then checked My Notifications On Facebook And Twitter whilst I was standing on the train, I got one message from A Charlton Athletic Supporter who said, just turn up & you’ll beat us, and I got a few likes to My Tweets On Twitter, and I arrived in Gillingham at 13.20PM and made my way towards the exit and put my ticket through the ticket barriers, there were plenty of Police Vans around Gillingham Train Station Already, anticipating what could be a feisty derby atmosphere between Gillingham and Charlton Athletic inside the ground, and unfortunately, around Gillingham Train Station and The Town Centre As Well, I personally don’t think Gillingham V Charlton Athletic is an antagonising match when you compare this fixture to Gillingham V Millwall For Example, But I suppose when you get a local derby match like this, you get idiots on both sides looking for confrontation, when really, our focus should be on the pitch as Gillingham and Charlton Athletic need the three points for very different reason’s.

Stephen met up with me at Gillingham Train Station, and straight away we spoke about The Nolberto Solano Gillingham Rumour’s which were all over Social Media On Friday Night, and what makes this rumour very believable, is the fact that Talk Sport actually broke this story, and there were many other stories which suggested that Gillingham wanted Adrian Pennock to remain in-charge for The Charlton Athletic Game and Nolberto Solano will take over as Gillingham Manager On Monday, And I do believe that this story has got a lot of traction and there have been calls for A Managerial Change From the Vast Majority Of Gillingham Supporters, and while Nolberto Solano has very little managerial experience, he clearly has ambitions to manage in England and he would see Gillingham as the ideal stepping stone for his managerial career.

Ian Hendon coming back isn’t an ideal choice as Assistant Manager, Surely, Nolberto Solano would have his own personal he would want to bring into the football club to form as part of his coaching set up, But I do think that Peter Taylor remaining in his role as Director Of Football would provide Nolberto Solano someone with managerial experience to fall back on, and it is important that Peter Taylor remains in the back-ground, now since these rumours have entered the public domain, these rumours have of course been denied, but that means very little, Because these rumours weren’t mentioned by A Supporter On Social Media, they were mentioned by Talk Sport, and there has to be something in this for the story to be mentioned in the first place.

As Me and Stephen were walking towards Priestfield Stadium, it was absolutely chucking it down, so we took shelter inside The Co-Op Briefly, Stephen went to buy A Drink, before we went outside to brave the hectic weather conditions and Stephen had no jacket with him, so we quickly made our way to Priestfield Stadium and arrived out-side the ground at 13.30PM, before heading inside The Ticket Office to get out of the rain, Charlton Athletic’s Team Coach had just turned up to the ground as well and Stephen mentioned that there were two or three Gillingham Supporters to Twelve Charlton Athletic Supporters at Faversham Train Station, but even if our home support isn’t going to be as high as we would have want it to be, Gillingham V Charlton Athletic is why we were so desperate to retain our League One Status This Season, these are the type of games we want to see Gillingham playing in, and Charlton Athletic are going to bring a very large and very vocal support to Priestfield Stadium, A Support which is going to be absolutely soaked if this downpour continue’s.

I queued up inside The Ticket Office For My Rochdale Ticket, which cost me £22, I did ask if Blackburn Rovers Tickets were going to be on sale, but so far, there are no Blackburn Rovers Tickets Available, Stephen mentioned to me after I brought my ticket that surely there isn’t going to be just one coach traveling to Blackburn Rovers and that there is going to be two Kings Ferry Coaches for that away day, Hopefully, there are going to be plug chargers on the coach, because traveling to Blackburn Rovers and back is going to be a long long day.

We went inside The Club Shop, mostly to keep ourselves out of the rain, and Me And Stephen both brought One Match-Day Programme Each For £3, and Diane gave Stephen a copy of The Cody McDonald Interview From The AFC Wimbledon Match-Day Programme On Tuesday Night, and we got speaking about The Nolberto Solano Rumour From Last Night, Dan mentioned another manager with no experience and it would be better to stick with Adrian Pennock, while Diane wants an experienced manager to come in and take over, I mentioned that this appears to be the market Gillingham are in at the moment, we’re either looking for someone who has been out of work for a long time and is looking for a way back in, or, A First Time Managerial Appointment, and it appears that Paul Scally is looking at the latter and looking for someone new to come in and take over from Adrian Pennock, even if the rumours are false and completely not true, A Charlton Athletic Win Would surely mean the end of Adrian Pennock’s Reign As Gillingham Manager, as that would mean just three points out of a possible twenty four for Adrian Pennock.

Now, of course there will be some Gillingham Supporters who object to talking about A Managerial Replacement while the current manager is in a job (Something I actually agree with personally), but these rumours were not mentioned by A Gillingham Supporter On Social Media, these rumours came from TALK SPORT and other national media outlets, so there has to be something in this, I guess the only way we are going to find out precisely what is going on is in Adrian Pennock’s Post Match Press Conference After The Charlton Athletic Game, and of course, we may well have to wait and see what happens on Monday as well.

Me, Diane and Stephen said C Ya To Dan and David, before exiting The Club Shop, and the downpour had just stopped as well, and we met up with Gary pre-match, who stayed inside his car to keep himself dry, and we spoke about just how there are so many off the field issue’s at the football club with The Centre-Plate Court Case, The Michael Anderson Situation, The Justin Edinburgh Employment Tribunal and The Gillingham Community Trust no longer working with the football club, and Gary mentioned how we are only in September, and there are so many off the field talking points, as well as discussions about Adrian Pennock’s Managerial Future At Gillingham Football Club and Gillingham’s League Position In League One, the four of us spoke of how Justin Edinburgh has not only been sacked by Gillingham, but Northampton Town have sacked him this season and that’s two League One Clubs who have terminated Justin Edinburgh’s Contract, and Gillingham and Northampton Town have both given Justin Edinburgh decent playing budgets to operate with as well.

Gary was speaking about The Gillingham Community Trust and the good work they were doing with the activities they were working on, but also, good work from The Gillingham Community Trust meant good publicity for Gillingham Football Club, and it is unclear how The Gillingham Community Trust will continue to function without being part of Gillingham Football Club.

The four of us also spoke about Arsenal V FC Koln, and specifically, How FC Koln Supporters were able to buy tickets in the home end at The Emirates Stadium, thankfully, it didn’t kick off, but we could of been talking about a completely different set of circumstances, obviously FC Koln haven’t been in Europe for a long long time so they traveled in huge numbers, and maybe what Arsenal should have done was increase the size of the away end if there wasn’t going to be a sell out amongst Arsenal Supporters, Some Arsenal Supporters also sold tickets to FC Koln Fans at ridiculous prices, Which raises so many questions, why were supporters allowed to sell tickets via third party ?? Why didn’t Arsenal give FC Koln A Larger Away Allocation ??? And how were supporters of the opposition allowed to sit amongst Arsenal Supporters ???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQce3KKLEUs - There Is This Video Clip On YouTube Of FC Koln Supporters singing and chanting at full time despite losing 3-1 against Arsenal, great atmosphere, great support, and when you compare FC Koln’s Support to the picture of Arsenal Supporters eating dinner inside The Emirates, you can see such a high contrast, This Liverpool Supporter - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmNsWzHgxC8 - Mentions how The Top Six Premier League Clubs are tourist clubs and people come along to Liverpool or Arsenal for a day out, where as in Germany, they have safe standing, the atmosphere is still part of The German Game and Safe Standing is a talking point in English Football, and I would like to see Safe Standing Return, I even mentioned to Stephen that there are a generation of football supporters who have grown up and not stood at a football match before, and in some cases, some supporters have never watched live football before either.

Finally, Gillingham’s Team News Appeared On Twitter, And Gillingham Lined Up As Follows,,,,,,,,,, Tomas Holy, Luke O’Neill, Ben Nugent, Gabriel Zakuani, Max Ehmer, Alex Lacey, Mark Byrne, Scott Wagstaff, Sean Clare, Conor Wilkinson, Tom Eaves SUBS: Steve Arnold (GK), Connor Ogilvie, Jake Hessenthaler, Jesse Starkey, Josh Parker, Greg Cundle and Liam Nash - And when it comes to guessing Gillingham’s Starting Line Up And Formation, This Was The Tricky Part, Because Gabriel Zakuani, Alex Lacey, Ben Nugent and Max Ehmer were all starting, And with four centre back’s and Connor Ogilvie on the bench, I thought, OK, This Is A Back Five With Luke O’Neill and Alex Lacey At Wing Back With Gabriel Zakuani, Ben Nugent and Max Ehmer in defence, with Mark Byrne in The Holding Midfielder Role with Scott Wagstaff and Sean Clare supporting Tom Eaves and Conor Wilkinson.

It could be A Back Six, With Four Centre Back’s, Luke O’Neill and Scott Wagstaff at Wing Back, Mark Byrne and Sean Clare In Midfield, and Conor Wilkinson and Tom Eaves In Attack, A Flat 4.4.2 Formation, with Scott Wagstaff and Sean Clare on the flanks, with Mark Byrne in Central Midfield with one of the centre back’s, and Alex Lacey is playing left back, we were completely at a loss as to how Gillingham will be lining up against Charlton Athletic.

How is this going to work up against A Charlton Athletic Side who are flying high in League One and full of confidence despite there 3-0 home defeat against Wigan Athletic in mid-week, we have no idea, Me And Stephen also spoke about Gillingham Last Season and Gillingham This Season, Last Season, when you asked the question, where are the goals going to come from, you looked at players like Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Cody McDonald, Bradley Dack, Josh Wright, and Max Ehmer chipped in with a few, of those five players, only Max Ehmer is still at the club this season, and when your looking at where the goals are going to come from, there is less confidence in Tom Eaves and Conor Wilkinson’s ability to hit the back of the net then Cody McDonald’s, With Gillingham signing Jesse Starkey the day before, I do wonder if Adrian Pennock is looking to sign another striker, someone who is different to who we have at the football club already ???

Me and Stephen had draw’s for The NoirCat Prediction League and a draw would be a very good result against Charlton Athletic, But Gillingham need to start winning games and winning quickly, and how great would it be if Gillingham were to pick up all three points against Charlton Athletic, and once this weekend is out of the way, we can then turn our attentions to all the managerial speculation and this speculation cannot have helped Adrian Pennock, his coaching staff and his players in preparation for the match against Charlton Athletic, I think there is much more to this story then we have heard so far, and I think there will be more information which will become public knowledge within the next week or two, I have nothing concrete to back that statement up, I think we will hear more, and possibly, there might be a statement after the game against Charlton Athletic this afternoon, A Statement which will either confirm or deny The Nolberto Solano Speculation.

Stephen decided to head on inside the ground and we would meet up after the game, hopefully, celebrating A Gillingham Win, And I Said C Ya To Stephen before catching up with James’s Dad, and the first thing we spoke about was the rumour which broke the night before about Nolberto Solano potentially being appointed as Gillingham Manager, Rumours That James’s Dad believed to be true, But it is the possible return of Ian Hendon which will irritate supporters, surely Nolberto Solano would have his own back-room staff that he would like to bring in, and we spoke about how Kent Online had to back-track on Justin Edinburgh’s Appointment As Gillingham Manager before Justin Edinburgh was officially appointed as Gillingham Manager just days later, there is also the possibility that these rumours are false, however, A Charlton Athletic Win could spell the end of Adrian Pennock’s tenure as Gillingham Manager, and we could be looking for someone else to be appointed as manager, it is less then ideal to be speaking about other manager’s linked to The Gillingham Job whilst Adrian Pennock is still in employment, but this appears to be where we are at this present moment in time, with the rumour breaking about Nolberto Solano the night before.

We then spoke about the player wages comments, James’s Dad thought that Our First Team Players Might Be On A Basic Wage Of £200 - £400 a week which is topped up with incentives, appearance fee, clean sheet bonus, goal bonus, and substitute fee, It does show the predicament that Gillingham Football Club are in at the moment and the money we can spend on players, and the money we clearly cannot afford to spend at this present moment in time.

I decided to head off inside the ground, So I Got My Season Ticket Out Ready, and I was searched before going through the turnstiles, and I Brought One Mars Bar for £1 and One Fifty / Fifty Match-Day Lottery Ticket, and I got speaking to Martin pre-match, and he was sceptical about The Nolberto Solano Rumours, pointing out that he lacks managerial experience and it would be better to keep Adrian Pennock at the club, Martin also thinks that Adrian Pennock needs help and he should call Peter Taylor down to the dugout to offer some advice and offer his experience to Adrian Pennock, Steve Lovell and Jamie Day on the sidelines, If Peter Taylor is committed to his role as Director Of Football, then perhaps, bring in an experienced coach who is willing to come in and assist Adrian Pennock in the dugout, someone like John Gorman for example, who worked alongside Andy Hessenthaler back in our Championship Days, which is a long time ago now.

We then spoke about the team selection, and we couldn’t make heads or tails of it, A Back Five looks very likely, a back six could well be how we’re lining up, Martin isn’t happy with Tomas Holy in goal, and I mentioned that with the exception of The 3-3 Draw Against Southend United, even though Holy still made some decent saves in that match, I think Tomas Holy has been one of our standout players this season, Martin had the opinion that Stuart Nelson should be starting, But Tomas Holy has got The Goalkeeper Jersey For The Foreseeable Future.

As for score predictions, we’re not confident, obviously we’re hoping for A Gillingham Win, But Charlton Athletic are flying and they will want to respond quickly after losing against Wigan Athletic In Mid-Week, and we know that Ricky Holmes is the player to watch out for, Player For Player, Charlton Athletic are an improvement on The Starting Eleven that Gillingham have named, But Charlton Athletic have the finances and the resources to bring in some quality players and there ambitions are clear for all to see this season, promotion into The Championship, Charlton Athletic want to get out of League One, Gillingham want to remain in League One, the ambitions of both football clubs are completely different, but that doesn’t mean that we should just accept defeat, maybe, just maybe, Gillingham can upset the odds against Charlton Athletic at Priestfield Stadium on A September Afternoon - at least the weather is improving.

Both teams came out of the tunnel ready for kick off and Martin and Colin took to there seats and I took to my seat, and the atmosphere was building nicely around Priestfield Stadium as Gillingham take on Charlton Athletic, Only Thirty Five Miles Separate Both Football Clubs, but before kick off, twelve points separate Charlton Athletic and Gillingham, and Charlton Athletic were third in League One coming into this fixture, Hopefully, Gillingham can upset the odds by picking up three points and our first league win of the season - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIRST HALF:

And this match springs into life right from the get go, as Jake Forster-Caskey plays a short pass to Ricky Homes, who goes on a driving run forward in possession of the ball, and Ricky Holmes has gone past Mark Byrne, gone past Max Ehmer and contained his run down the left side of the pitch, and Ricky Holmes manages to run all the way towards the byline with Max Ehmer desperately trying to keep up with the talented Charlton Athletic Midfielder, and Ricky Holmes pulls the ball back across the face of goal and Gabriel Zakuani has managed to boot the ball clear down-field, and it is from here where Gillingham turn defence into attack, as Gabriel Zakuani’s clearance is flicked on by Conor Wilkinson, and Tom Eaves manages to retain possession of the ball ahead of Jason Pearce’s attempted challenge, and Tom Eaves plays the ball back to Conor Wilkinson, who gets to the loose ball ahead of Ahmed Kashi, and pokes the ball through to Sean Clare, And The Young Midfielder On Loan From Sheffield Wednesday goes on a driving run from the halfway line towards the edge of Charlton Athletic’s Penalty Area, and Sean Clare cuts inside slightly on to his favoured right foot, and Sean Clare’s effort on goal lacks the power to beat Ben Amos in The Charlton Athletic Goal - A Very End To End Fast And Frantic Start To The Match.

And this fast and frantic start is showing no sign’s of slowing down, as Tom Eaves manages to get through down the right side of the pitch - Charlton Athletic’s Left - And Tom Eaves dangerous in-swinging cross is cleared out of play at the near post by Jason Pearce, ideally, we would like to see Tom Eaves inside the penalty area getting on the end of those types of crosses, Goal-Scoring Opportunities are going to be a rarity for Gillingham throughout the entire match.

Three Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham got a huge let off as Charlton Athletic’s Penalty Appeal’s were turned down, Ben Amos kicks the ball long down-field for Charlton Athletic and Ben Nugent wins the aerial challenge up against Billy Clarke and Chris Solly wins the next aerial challenge up against Scott Wagstaff and headers the ball forward and Billy Clarke hooks the ball high into the heart of Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Alex Lacey’s First Touch was less then convincing when the ball came back down again, and Tarique Fosu has managed to nip in there and intercept the ball and Alex Lacey nips in there to intercept the ball and play the ball back to Tomas Holy, but by doing so, Alex Lacey has brought Tarique Fosu down, and Referee Graham Salisbury has waved away those penalty appeals, that was a huge let off for Alex Lacey, because not only would have Charlton Athletic been awarded A Penalty Kick, But Alex Lacey might have been shown A Red Card As Well.

Tarique Fosu is penalised for his challenge on Max Ehmer on the halfway line, But Charlton Athletic create the first serious goal-scoring opportunity in The Fourth Minute, Charlton Athletic have A Throw On Down The Left Side Of The Pitch just inside there own half as Jay Dasilva throws the ball down the line, and Josh Magennis plays a one touch layoff into Jake Forster-Caskey’s Path, But The Charlton Athletic Midfielder cannot quite bring the ball under his control and Conor Wilkinson gets on to the loose ball, turns back on himself to retain possession, before taking several touches in possession of the ball before kicking the ball long down-field towards Tom Eaves, But Jason Pearce wins the aerial challenge, chests the ball down before playing the ball out-wide to Jay Dasilva, who plays the ball inside to Jake Forster-Caskey, who takes a few touches in possession of the ball, and Jake Forster-Caskey plays the ball out-wide to Jay Dasilva, who takes a touch to control the ball and Jay Dasilva threads the ball down the line towards Ricky Holmes, and Luke O’Neill slides in to try and intercept the ball, but Luke O’Neill cannot kick the ball into touch, and now Ricky Holmes is through down the left side of the pitch and Ricky Holmes is now through on goal down the left side of the pitch - Gillingham’s Right - and Ricky Holmes has the awareness to pull the ball back across the face of goal, and Josh Magennis’s first time effort is brilliantly saved by Tomas Holy, and the re-bound comes back to Tarique Fosu, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Tarique Fosu lays the ball off to Josh Magennis, who see’s his shot towards goal blocked by Ben Nugent and Mark Byrne headers the ball out of play for A Charlton Athletic Throw On.

Luke O’Neill, Alex Lacey, Ben Nugent and Gabriel Zakuani all were surrounding Josh Magennis, so one of them surely was going to make the block, but that was a great save from Tomas Holy to preserve parity, we’re only four minutes into the match, and if that save from Tomas Holy is what we have got in store for the rest of the match, then we are going to be in for a long ninety minutes inside Priestfield Stadium.

And that long ninety minutes comment looks like it is going to be proven right, as Charlton Athletic create another decent goal-scoring opportunity in The Fifth Minute Of The Match, Ben Amos kicks the ball long down-field for Charlton Athletic and Ben Nugent wins the aerial challenge up against Josh Magennis, and the ball falls kindly into Luke O’Neill’s Path, and Luke O’Neill takes a touch to control the ball, and Luke O’Neill tries to play the ball down the line towards Tom Eaves, But Luke O’Neill’s pass is poor and goes straight to Jay Dasilva, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Jay Dasilva runs forward in possession of the ball, and Jay Dasilva plays the ball forward to Ricky Holmes, who is forced to run away from goal towards the halfway line, and Ricky Holmes turns back on himself so he is facing towards goal, and Ricky Holmes plays the ball inside to Billy Clarke, and Billy Clarke takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in an low in-swinging cross and Ben Nugent does really well to header the ball away from danger, and Jake Forster-Caskey wins the aerial challenge up against Sean Clare to header the ball towards Tarique Fosu, and Torique Fosu takes a touch to control the ball, before trying a speculative effort on goal from the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, and Tomas Holy dives at full stretch to his right to parry the ball away from goal and Luke O’Neill manages to clear the ball long down-field, and Tom Eaves has done enough to pressurise Jason Pearce to knock the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, On The Halfway Line.

Another really good save from Tomas Holy, who has already made two saves within the first five minutes of the match, and I am expecting Tomas Holy to quadruple that save tally by the time we reach half time, Max Ehmer is then penalised for his challenge on Ricky Holmes, A Player that every Gillingham Supporter had picked out as the player we need to watch out for from the opposition, and a player we have to try and keep quiet throughout the entire match, which is a lot easier said then done.

Seven Minutes Into The Match, and Alex Lacey’s challenge on Torique Fosu isn’t penalised and Charlton Athletic haven’t been awarded a free kick as the ball has gone out of play for a throw on, But A Minute Later, and Charlton Athletic are causing Gillingham problems yet again, and again, it is Ricky Holmes who has evaded two or three challenges and looking to create and score goal-scoring opportunities all by himself, and Ricky Homes driven effort towards goal is blocked by Ben Nugent and the ball runs through for Tomas Holy to gather, And In The Ninth Minute, Billy Clarke has A Free Kick Given Against Him for hand-ball.

The Match starts to go from end to end, Luke O’Neill has possession of the ball down the right side of the pitch on the halfway line, and Luke O’Neill threads the ball down the line towards Sean Clare, who has the pace to go past Jay Dasilva and whip in an dangerous in-swinging cross, But Ben Amos was able to gather the ball with ease, and from here, Charlton Athletic were able to turn defence into attack very quickly, as Ben Amos rolls the ball out to Jason Pearce, who plays the ball forward to Jake Forster-Caskey, who takes a touch to control the ball before playing the ball out-wide to Jay Dasilva, who takes a few touches in possession of the ball before threading the ball down the line towards Ricky Holmes, who is being double marked by Luke O’Neill and Mark Byrne, and because of this, Ricky Holmes in-swinging cross hits the back of The Rainham End and Tomas Holy isn’t required to make a save on this occasion.

And From The Resulting Goal-Kick, Tomas Holy kicks the ball long down-field and Tom Eaves wins the aerial challenge to flick the ball on into Sean Clare’s Path, and Sean Clare is pushed in the back by Chris Solly, and Gillingham have been awarded a free kick in an central position within shooting territory here, and from the resulting free kick, we all thought that Gillingham had opened the scoring, as Conor Wilkinson leaves the ball for Sean Clare to strike, and Sean Clare whips the ball over the wall and on target, and Ben Amos does brilliantly to tip the ball on to the crossbar, and Gabriel Zakuani reacts quickest with a diving header to stick the ball into the back of the net, and for a moment, I thought that Gillingham had opened the scoring, however, The Linesman Down The Medway Stand / Brian Moore Stand Side Of The Pitch had his flag raised for offside, and looking at the highlights, Gabriel Zakuani looks like he is in an offside position, a side on view from the highlights would have given greater clarity - But this is something for Gillingham to build on, and Charlton Athletic Supporters may have something to be concerned about defensively now.

A Minute Later, and Max Ehmer is booked for his reckless challenge on Ricky Holmes and it was a bookable offence, no arguments there from me, Thankfully, Chris Solly’s in-swinging cross towards the back-stick is over-hit and goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, Ahmed Kashi is then penalised for his challenge on Tom Eaves.

Fifteen Minutes Into The Match, and Tomas Holy is called into action yet again, Charlton Athletic are enjoying a consistent spell of possession, and Billy Clarke plays a threaded ball in and behind Alex Lacey towards Chris Solley, who has managed to get to the byline and fire in an dangerous low cross which takes a slight nick off Ben Nugent who has dived in low to make a block with an out-stretched leg, and Tomas Holy has had to watch the ball very carefully into his grasp and held on to the ball at the first attempt, and that is precisely what Tomas Holy has done, this may well not the most difficult of saves that Tomas Holy has made in the match so far, but with the rain earlier, Tomas Holy could of easily spilled that low cross back into play for Josh Magennis to score a easy tap in.

A Minute Later, and Tom Eaves is chasing a lost cause and defending from the front to knock the ball out of play for A Charlton Athletic Throw On, And Jay Dasilva throws the ball down the line towards Josh Magennis, who wins the initial aerial challenge but headers the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, Seventeen Minutes Into The Match, and it is that man Ricky Holmes who is the creative spark for Charlton Athletic, and Ricky Holmes threads the ball through towards Josh Magennis, But Ricky Holmes threaded through pass is slightly over-hit and Charlton Athletic do not create a meaningful goal-scoring opportunity on this occasion, but the visitor’s are causing Gillingham plenty of problems.

Eighteen Minutes Into The Match, and Tom Eaves works his socks off down The Brian Moore Stand / Gordon Road Stand Side Of The Pitch to retain possession of the ball and kick the ball against Chris Solly to win Gillingham A Corner Kick, great work from Tom Eaves There, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Sean Clare has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross which is headed clear by Jason Pearce, and Scott Wagstaff gets to the loose ball first and plays the ball out-wide to Sean Clare, who takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in another dangerous in-swinging cross, and this time it is Patrick Bauer who is heading the ball away from danger, and Luke O’Neill gets to the loose ball, and Luke O’Neill see’s his first time cross charged down by Jay Dasilva, But Gillingham have won A Throw On In Charlton Athletic’s Final Third.

And It Is From This Throw On Where Gillingham Create A Half Chance, Mark Byrne pretends to go for the long throw, but Mark Byrne throws the ball short to Luke O’Neill, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Luke O’Neill whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross and Patrick Bauer headers the ball clear to the edge of Charlton Athletic’s Penalty Area, and Jake Forster-Caskey gets to the loose ball ahead of Sean Clare, who is penalised for a high foot, and you now have to be careful with high foot challenges, especially as Sadio Mane was sent off for Liverpool for a high foot challenge a week ago, and Referee’s appear to be focusing on high foot challenges more and more now.

Twenty Two Minutes Into The Match, and our handball appeals against Ricky Homes went un-noticed as Charlton Athletic were awarded a throw on down the right side of the pitch in Gillingham’s Final Third, Ricky Holmes has lived up to our pre-match expectations of being the player we needed to watch out for in this fixture, Three Goals In Seven Appearances already this season, and Ricky Holmes has created Charlton Athletic’s best goal-scoring opportunity of the entire match so far.

Twenty Five Minutes Into The Match, And Charlton Athletic created another goal-scoring opportunity, Jason Pearce plays the ball forward to Billy Clarke, who takes a touch to control the ball before playing the ball out-wide to Chris Solly, who takes a touch to control the ball before threading the ball through to Torique Fosu, who brings the ball under his complete control and Torique Fosu plays the ball back to Billy Clarke, who controls the ball before playing the ball out-wide to Jason Pearce down the left side of the pitch, and Jason Pearce plays the ball down the line towards Jake Forster-Caskey, who threads the ball out-wide to Jay Dasilva, who skips past challenges from Luke O’Neill and Tom Eaves, and Jay Dasilva plays the ball inside to Ricky Holmes, and Ricky Holmes plays a cross-field pass out-wide to Chris Solly down the right side of the pitch - Gillingham’s Left - In The Final Third, And Chris Solly, takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in an dangerous in-swinging cross and Gabriel Zakuani manages to header the ball clear, and it appears that the ball strikes Billy Clarke on the arm, and despite the huge handball shouts from the back of The Rainham End, play continue’s, and Ricky Holmes first time driven effort is fired in low towards the bottom left corner of the net, and Tomas Holy dives low to his right to make the save and gather the ball at the second attempt - Another Save From Tomas Holy, who has had plenty to do in the opening Twenty Five Minutes Of The Match So Far.

Twenty Six Minutes Into The Match, And Luke O’Neill is penalised and shown A Yellow Card For His Challenge On Ricky Holmes, It’s going to be a long Sixty Four Minutes Plus Stoppage Time For Luke O’Neill, as he is going to be up against Ricky Holmes And Jay Dasilva with A Yellow Card, and the likelihood of Luke O’Neill coming through this game without picking up a second yellow card is looking increasingly unlikely, simply because Gillingham are under a lot of pressure from Charlton Athletic.

And From The Resulting Free Kick, Charlton Athletic had a half chance to open the scoring, Chris Solly has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the back-stick and Josh Magennis has headed the ball back across the face of goal, and it looks like Luke O’Neill is going to shield the ball out of play for A Goal-Kick up against Ricky Holmes, But Luke O’Neill plays an awful pass into Max Ehmer’s path, who just about manages to kick the ball into Billy Clarke to win Gillingham A Goal-Kick - Very Lucky Gillingham, Very Lucky - Luck we are clearly going to need throughout the match, But Adrian Pennock, Jamie Day and Steve Lovell pay far too much emphasis on luck in there pre and post match press conferences.

Gillingham win a few throw on’s which do not amount to a serious goal-scoring opportunity, But In The Twenty Ninth Minute Of The Match, Mark Byrne can consider himself very unlucky to have conceded a free kick down the right side of the pitch in Gillingham’s Final Third, as Mark Byrne slipped and brought Jake Forster-Caskey down the deck as Mark Byrne fell over, And Charlton Athletic are awarded a free kick in a really promising position on the pitch and Mark Byrne wasn’t shown A Yellow Card, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Ricky Holmes has delivered an dangerous in-swinging cross and Ben Nugent has headed the ball clear and Mark Bynre has got to the loose ball first and played the ball forward to Conor Wilkinson, who has threaded an fantastic diagonal ball from left to right to pick out Tom Eaves, who just hasn’t got the pace to get past Patrick Bauer, and The Charlton Athletic Centre Back plays the ball back to Ben Amos.

Now if that was someone like Simeon Jackson, Dominic Samuel or Cody McDonald, they would have the pace to run through on goal, Tom Eaves just simply isn’t that type of forward, and Gillingham have got plenty of attacking options on the bench, as Greg Cundle, Liam Nash and Josh Parker are all available for selection, should Gillingham need to change things up in attack, There is also the possibility of Gillingham signing an unattached striker who has got a bit of pace on a short term contract, because Gillingham can sign Free Agents at any-time, and with Jesse Starkey signing the day before Gillingham V Charlton Athletic, I do wonder if there are other free agents we’re looking to sign on to a permanent contract ???

Thirty One Minutes Into The Match, and It Is Ricky Holmes and Jay Dasilva causing us problems yet again, this time, it is Ricky Holmes threading the ball through to Jay Dasilva on the over-lap down Gillingham’s Right Side Of The Pitch In Gillingham’s Final Third, Thankfully, Jay Dasilva’s in-swinging cross from the byline has hit the back of The Rainham End, and Tomas Holy hasn’t been severely tested, but Ricky Holmes and Jay Dasilva are causing Gillingham a lot of problems, and with Luke O’Neill already booked, he needs additional protection, and someone needs to come across to go two v one against Ricky Holmes, who is by far Charlton Athletic’s Best Player On The Pitch.

Thirty Three Minutes Into The Match, and Conor Wilkinson’s poor back header towards Mark Byrne has teed up A Goal-Scoring Opportunity For Charlton Athletic, as Jake Forster-Caskey is on to the ball and takes a touch to bring the ball under his complete control before seeing his effort towards goal blocked by Ben Nugent, and the follow up effort from Billy Clarke is low and on target and Tomas Holy does make the save, before throwing the ball out of play so that Mark Byrne can receive treatment.

And Mark Byrne is down on the deck for four minutes, both Jake Hessenthaler and Jesse Starkey are warming up and waiting to see if one of them is required to come on, thankfully, Mark Byrne is OK to continue playing, but only after having his head heavily bandaged, Mark Byrne also had to change his shirt and Gillingham were temporarily down to ten men, loud chants from The Gillingham Supporters Inside Priestfield Stadium eventually lead to Graham Salisbury waving Mark Byrne back on to the pitch, Sean Clare had dropped back into an more defensive midfielder role while Mark Byrne was standing on the sidelines.

Forty Minutes Into The Match, And Charlton Athletic created a really good passing move to try and open Gillingham Up, Jake Forster-Caskey plays the ball through to Josh Magennis, who plays the ball out-wide to Billy Clarke down the left side of the pitch, and Billy Clarke just about manages to keep the ball in play before passing the ball inside to Ahmed Kashi, who plays the ball back to Billy Clarke, and Billy Clarke plays a cross-field pass to Jason Pearce, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Jason Pearce runs forward in possession of the ball before threading the ball through to Ricky Holmes, who plays a neat one touch flick pass into Torique Fosu’s path, and Torique Fosu goes on a driving run into Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Mark Byrne, Sean Clare and Gabriel Zakuani are all standing around the quick Charlton Athletic Wide Player, and Gabriel Zakuani sticks with Torique Fosu toe to toe and slides in to make the challenge and concede A Corner Kick.

Charlton Athletic Supporters were appealing for a penalty and Charlton Athletic’s Twitter Feed mentions questions being asked from The Referee, But It Was A Great Challenge From Gabriel Zakuani, and one that needed to be timed to perfection, and from the resulting corner kick, Charlton Athletic create another goal-scoring opportunity as Jake Forster-Caskey has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross into the heart of Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Patrick Bauer has climbed highest to header the ball towards the far left corner of the net, and Tomas Holy has dived at full stretch to make another splendid save, Tomas Holy has had plenty to do so far and I am sure he will have several more saves he will need to do throughout the entire match.

Forty One Minutes Into The Match, and Tarique Fosu is penalised for his challenge on Scott Wagstaff, and from the resulting free kick on the halfway line, Sean Clare has completed wasted the resulting free kick as his cross / shot was no-where near on target, and far too high for anyone to header on target or back across the face of goal, I think I have put a commentators curse on that free kick, because I was saying to supporters around me how Sean Clare’s delivery from set play’s was very impressive against AFC Wimbledon On Tuesday Night.

Gillingham really are back’s against the wall against Charlton Athletic, as Gabriel Zakuani makes a last ditch clearance up against that man again Ricky Holmes, and Jason Pearce is on to the loose ball, and he plays the ball forward to Jake Forster-Caskey, and Jake Forster-Caskey takes a touch to control the ball before threading the ball down the line towards Jay Dasilva, who has once again hit an over-hit cross which has run out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, And Every Gillingham Supporter can breath a sigh of relief.

We’re now into the first of five minutes of stoppage time at the end of The First Half, and Ahmed Kashi is booked for his challenge on Mark Byrne, and from the resulting free kick, Sean Clare has tried to pick out Tom Eaves with a high ball down the right side of the pitch, and Jay Dasilva has headed the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, And From the Resulting Throw On, Mark Byrne has hurled in an dangerous long throw into the heart of Charlton Athletic’s Penalty Area and Jason Pearce has won the aerial challenge up against Conor Wilkinson, and Ahmed Kashi has kicked the ball long down-field and Scott Wagstaff gets to the loose ball on the halfway line and plays the ball back to Tomas Holy, and as Scott Wagstaff plays the ball back to Tomas Holy, His Hamstring has gone and that is Scott Wagstaff out injured, no-one around Scott Wagstaff, no reckless challenge, just one of those inexplicable injuries which you are at a complete loss in trying to figure out what went wrong and another injury delay, but unlike Mark Byrne, Scott Wagstaff cannot continue playing, and Josh Parker has come on for Scott Wagstaff just as we reach the closing stages of The First Half.

The Linesman Down The Rainham End / Gordon Road Stand Side Of The Pitch infuriated every Gillingham Supporter as Tarique Fosu has dived to win Charlton Athletic A Free Kick, no contact from Ben Nugent, and a shocking decision from The Linesman There, And From the Resulting Free Kick, Ricky Holmes has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross which is headed clear by Ben Nugent, and Ricky Holmes takes a touch to control the ball and whips in a low in-swinging cross and Alex Lacey has thrown himself in-front of the ball to header the ball clear, But Referee Graham Salisbury had already penalised Billy Clarke for a foul, and Gillingham have been awarded a defensive free kick.

And The Final Noteworthy Moment Of The First Half, Is Ben Nugent taking no chances and kicking the ball clear into row z, and depute there being plenty of goal-mouth action - with most of the goal-mouth action happening in and around Gillingham’s Penalty Area - The Score-Line At Priestfield Stadium remains goal-less.

HALF TIME: GILLINGHAM 0 - 0 CHARLTON ATHLETIC

Tomas Holy has clearly been the busier goalkeeper, making saves to deny Josh Magennis and Tarique Fosu from scoring within the first five minutes, stopping Patrick Bauer from scoring a header at the end of the first half, and preventing Ricky Holmes from getting himself on the score-sheet, But The One Save That Ben Amos has made was to tip Sean Clare’s Free Kick On To The Crossbar and Gabriel Zakuani’s Header was ruled out for offside - I have yet to see a side on angle of that offside decision, but based on what I have seen from the highlights, it does appear that Gabriel Zakuani’s goal being ruled out for offside was the correct decision.

I got speaking with Colin and Martin at half time, and we spoke about some of the off the field issue’s surrounding Gillingham Football Club at this present moment in time, and there is a lot of importance on Gillingham Winning The Centre-Plate Court Case and Gillingham can really do with A FA Cup Run This Season because our finances and resources are very tight, and A FA Cup Run and drawing the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool or Chelsea away from home could bring in some much needed revenue, there also appears to be one or two other issue’s that need resolving, I just hope that The Centre-Plate Court Case goes in Gillingham’s Favour In November and we will hopefully hear some good news in-regards to Gillingham’s Finances in the near future.

But when you look at what Charlton Athletic can afford to pay and your looking at a few players on £6,000 a week, and you compare that to the wages that Gillingham are paying, and Gillingham are paying a fraction of the cost, and you can see that with the players Charlton Athletic are naming in there starting line up, player for player, Charlton Athletic are a step up on Gillingham, But the score-line is still 0-0, Gillingham are still in the game, but for how much longer ???, Because it was 0-0 against Oxford United at half time and Gillingham conceded three goals in eight minutes, that cannot happen again, but Charlton Athletic just look like they are going to score, and Ricky Holmes has lived up to very Gillingham’s Supporters Expectations Of Being The Player To Watch Out For.

As For The Nolberto Solano Rumours, Colin just didn’t believe that they are true, simply because there is very little money available and sacking Adrian Pennock, Jamie Day and Steve Lovell to bring in Nolberto Solano doesn’t make sense financially when there is little money available, now of course, A Defeat Against Charlton Athletic and Adrian Pennock may be relieved of his managerial duties and we would be speaking about a new managerial appointment after this very match, Clearly, anyone with experience and credentials are not going to be anywhere near in contention for The Gillingham Job, but the question is going to be, can someone come in who can do better then Adrian Pennock with the players we have currently got at the football club ??? - And for many supporters, that answer is yes, Nolberto Solano, someone else, anyone other then Adrian Pennock is a real possibility, I think The Managerial Situation is up for debate and I do think A Managerial Change is looking very very likely and we will have to wait and see.

With Josh Parker coming on for Scott Wagstaff, any tactical changes appear to be not forthcoming at this present moment in time, Luke O’Neill and Max Ehmer were both booked in The First Half and I think out of those two, Luke O’Neill is the likely player to be substituted, Luke O’Neill is up against one of the best Left Sided Wingers In League One and I think we will give it a while before looking to substitute Luke O’Neill, Connor Ogilvie is the only defender on the bench, so he will come on for Luke O’Neill at some point.

It is still looking increasingly likely that Charlton Athletic are going to pick up all three points, but the longer the game remains at 0-0, then Gillingham have got a chance, the first goal is absolutely crucial, Can Gillingham score The First Goal For The First Time In The League This Season ???, And Can Gillingham get there first league win of the season ???, well, we are going to find out in the next forty five minutes plus stoppage time - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SECOND HALF:

Neither Adrian Pennock or Karl Robinson made any half time substitutions for Gillingham or Charlton Athletic respectively, and one of those substitutions is going to have to be Luke O’Neill coming off at some point during the match, because Ricky Holmes and Jay Dasilva are causing him a lot of problems down Gillingham’s Right Side Of The Pitch, Charlton Athletic will also be looking to make changes if the score-line remains at 0-0 around the hour mark as well.

After The Re-Start, Max Ehmer’s long ball over the top towards Tom Eaves is over-hit and runs out of play for A Charlton Athletic Goal-Kick, And In The Forty Sixth Minute Of The Match, Jay Dasilva tries to thread the ball through for Ricky Holmes to run on to, But Jay Dasilva’s pass is over-hit and runs out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, both teams are trying to get on the front-foot in the opening stages of The Second Half, and In The Forty Seventh Minute Of The Match, Max Ehmer takes a touch to control the ball in Gillingham’s Own Final Third, before hooking the ball clear and away from danger with an acrobatic over-head kick.

Fifty Minutes Into The Match, and Charlton Athletic win the first corner kick of the second half as Jay Dasilva goes on a driving run forward in possession of the ball and Luke O’Neill has no choice but to intercept the ball and by doing so, knock the ball out of play for A Charlton Athletic Corner, and from the resulting corner kick, Ricky Holmes in-swinging corner kick is headed up and under initially by Ben Nugent, and Max Ehmer gets to the second ball and plays the ball forward to Josh Parker, who goes on a driving run forward in possession of the ball and evading one challenge before passing the ball inside to Conor Wilkinson on the halfway line, and Conor Wilkinson does brilliantly to pick out Luke O’Neill on the overlap in Charlton Athletic’s Final Third, and Luke O’Neill tries to pick out Tom Eaves with an dangerous in-swinging cross, But Charlton Athletic Goalkeeper Ben Amos was off his line to gather the ball at the first attempt - Something For Gillingham to build on.

Fifty One Minutes Into The Match, And It’s Charlton Athletic who are on the front-foot, Chris Solly has possession of the ball for Charlton Athletic just in his own half of the pitch, and Chris Solly plays the ball forward to Ricky Holmes, who plays a one touch layoff into Billy Clarke’s Path, and Billy Clarke takes a touch to control the ball before trying to play the ball out-wide to the left flank, but Luke O’Neill has made an important interception to header the ball clear and Jake Forster-Caskey plays the ball out-wide to Jay Dasilva, who tries to pick out Ricky Holmes with a long ball down the line, but Jay Dasilva’s pass is cut out by Mark Byrne, who pokes the ball forward to Conor Wilkinson, who tries to pass the ball back into Mark Byrne’s path, but the ball runs kindly into Jake Forster-Caskey’s path, and Jake Forster-Caskey plays the ball back to Jason Pearce, who plays the ball out-wide to Jake Forster-Caskey, and The Charlton Athletic Midfielder plays a long ball down the line towards Josh Magennis, who is up against Ben Nugent, and both players are competing against each other and Charlton Athletic Supporters want a foul awarded against Ben Nugent, who has no choice but to knee the ball out of play for a corner kick, I just think it was a good battle between Centre Back and Centre Forward, And Charlton Athletic have the chance to cause Gillingham more problems from the resulting corner kick.

And that is precisely what happens as Chris Solly plays the ball short to Billy Clarke, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Billy Clarke’s in-swinging cross towards the far post is over-hit and runs all the way through to Patrick Bauer, who manages to keep the ball in play, and pass the ball back to Ricky Holmes who evades the challenge before running into an central position on the pitch, and Ricky Holmes threads the ball through to Josh Magennis, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Josh Magennis see’s his effort on goal brilliantly saved by Tomas Holy, the loose ball falls kindly back into Tarique Fosu’s path, and Gabriel Zakuani manages to time his challenge to perfection and Sean Clare just boots the ball away from goal - anywhere will do for Gillingham - and another top draw save from Tomas Holy there, who is doing everything he can to prevent Charlton Athletic from breaking the deadlock.

Fifty Four Minutes Into The Match, and despite being on the back-foot, Gillingham have done something they have yet to do in the league all season, and that is score the opening goal of the game, Gillingham Have A Throw On Down The Right Side Of The Pitch On The Halfway Line, and Luke O’Neill throws the ball down the line and Josh Parker takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball back to Luke O’Neill, and Luke O’Neill brings the ball under control, before playing a cross-field pass towards Alex Lacey, who takes a touch to control the ball before kicking the ball long down-field towards Tom Eaves, and Jason Pearce wins the initial aerial challenge and Conor Wilkinson cushions his header towards Max Ehmer, who plays the ball out-wide towards Sean Clare, who takes a touch to control the ball before running forward in possession of the ball, and Sean Clare threads the ball through to Max Ehmer who was close to the byline inside Charlton Athletic’s Penalty Area, and Max Ehmer pulls the ball back across the face of goal and there was Tom Eaves to stick the ball into the back of the net with a first time finish, and Gillingham have taken the lead.

Ben Amos couldn’t quite keep the ball out with an out-stretched leg and Tom Eaves loves scoring in-front of The Rainham End, as that is Tom Eaves fourth goal of the season and his fourth goal in-front of The Gillingham Supporters In The Rainham End, And Tom Eaves loves celebrating in-front of The Gillingham Supporters In The Rainham End as well, the question now is, can Gillingham hold on for thirty six minutes plus stoppage time, because there is a long long way to go throughout the rest of this match ???

Charlton Athletic almost respond with an instant equaliser, as Jay Dasilva goes on an driving run forward for Charlton Athletic, and Jay Dasilva skips past Luke O’Neill, who cannot dive into a challenge, and Jay Dasilva tries to lift the ball over Tomas Holy, But Jay Dasilva’s lofted effort clears Tomas Holy and clear’s Gillingham’s Crossbar, if that chance from Jay Dasilva is a sign of things to come, then Gillingham are going to be in for a very long second half.

This Match is starting to go from end to end now, as Gillingham are looking to double there advantage while Charlton Athletic are trying to find the equaliser, In The Fifty Seventh Minute, Conor Wilkinson has tried to pick out Tom Eaves with a threaded through-ball, But Conor Wilkinson’s pass is slightly over-hit and runs through to Ben Amos, also Tom Eaves isn’t the type of striker who can run in and behind and play on the shoulder of the last defender, and a minute later, It Is Charlton Athletic who are looking like they are going to cause Gillingham further problems defensively, as Josh Magennis does brilliantly to retain possession of the ball down the right side of the pitch - Gillingham’s Left - and Josh Magennis pulls the ball back across to Tarique Fosu, who is in a really decent position inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, thankfully, the ball ricochets off Tarique Fosu and runs out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, But we’re still more then half an hour away before we can even start thinking about three points for The Gills.

From The Resulting Goal-Kick, And Tomas Holy has kicked the ball long down-field and Tom Eaves has won the aerial challenge up against Jason Pearce, who was penalised for pushing Tom Eaves in the back, and Tom Eaves is looking like a completely different player since he has opened the scoring, as Tom Eaves is starting to play like the battering ram of a centre forward we expected him to be like when we signed Tom Eaves in the summer, following his summer signing from Yeovil Town.

Sean Clare and Conor Wilkinson both stand over the resulting free kick, and It’s Conor Wilkinson who tries his luck from distance, and Conor Wilkinson’s effort on goal is charged down by Charlton Athletic’s Defensive Wall and Sean Clare plays the ball back to Mark Byrne, who plays the ball out-wide to Alex Lacey, who threads the ball down the line towards Sean Clare, and Sean Clare cuts inside into an more central position before whipping in an dangerous in-swinging cross which only just clears Patrick Bauer’s Head, and Ben Amos gather the ball at the first attempt was more then just a routine save.

This match is really starting to open up just as we’re reaching the hour mark of the match, Jay Dasilva has plenty of pace and he is getting in and behind Gillingham’s Defence, and Gabriel Zakuani has had to come across and make the block, but at the expense of conceding a corner kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Chris Solly has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the back-stick and Gabriel Zakuani manages to block Patrick Bauer’s Header On Target, the follow up effort from Tarique Fosu is then blocked by Ben Nugent, and the ball ricochets back into Ricky Holmes Path, and Ricky Holmes Curling Effort Towards The Top Left Corner is tipped over by Tomas Holy, and Charlton Athletic are awarded another corner kick, and from the resulting corner kick, Charlton Athletic came close to scoring again, as Chris Solly has whipped in another dangerous in-swinging cross towards one of Jason Pearce or Patrick Bauer at the back-stick and Gabriel Zakuani has made a crucial block and Gillingham just barely survive and manage to clear there lines, it’s going to be a back’s against the wall performance for Gillingham from here onwards.

Sixty Three Minutes Into The Match, And Ahmed Kashi is penalised for his challenge on Josh Parker on the halfway line, and Gillingham have the chance to cause Charlton Athletic problems defensively from the resulting free kick, Alex Lacey decides to play the ball short to Mark Byrne, who cuts inside from the left flank only to be clipped by Tarique Fosu, and Referee Graham Salisbury awards Gillingham another free kick, this time in a much better crossing position, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Conor Wilkinson has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross and Alex Lacey’s Headed Effort Is On Target And Is Parried By Ben Amos as Tom Eaves went flying into the aerial challenge up against The Charlton Athletic Goalkeeper, and the follow up effort from Ben Nugent is blocked, however, Ben Nugent’s Effort On Target would not have counted had it hit the back of the net, as a defensive free kick was awarded in Charlton Athletic’s Favour.

And From The Resulting Free Kick, Ben Amos kicks the ball long down-field and Josh Magennis flicks the ball on ahead of Gabriel Zakuani’s attempted aerial challenge and Billy Clarke gets to the loose ball ahead of Ben Nugent, and Ben Nugent completely side-swipes Billy Clarke, Charlton Athletic are awarded a free kick in a really promising position on the pitch, and Ben Nugent is booked for his challenge on Billy Clarke, correct decision in my opinion, and from the resulting free kick, Charlton Athletic were close to score an equaliser, Ricky Holmes stands over the resulting free kick, and Ricky Holmes curls the ball over Gillingham’s Defensive Wall, and narrowly, just narrowly wide of Tomas Holy’s Left Hand Post - Again, Charlton Athletic were close to scoring, and they haven’t been able to get back on to level terms, yet, and I say yet because there is still a long way to go.

And we got from Charlton Athletic almost scoring, to Gillingham almost doubling there advantage in The Sixty Sixth Minute, Tomas Holy kicks the ball long down-field and Patrick Bauer wins the aerial challenge up against Tom Eaves, and Max Ehmer kicks the ball high and long into the heart of Charlton Athletic’s Penalty Area and Jason Pearce this time headers the ball clear and Sean Clare wins the next aerial challenge and Chris Solly headers the ball clear and away from danger, and Sean Clare tee’s up Tom Eaves, who’s shot on the turn only just about clears Ben Amos’s Crossbar, With The Charlton Athletic Goalkeeper back-peddling to make absolutely sure that he wasn’t going to be chipped by Tom Eaves Effort On Goal.

Ben Amos’s Goal-Kick was less then impressive however, as Ben Amos has kicked the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On Down The Gordon Road Stand Side Of The Pitch, and Luke O’Neill has thrown the ball down the line towards Conor Wilkinson, who has shown good strength up against Jay Dasilva to retain possession of the ball, and Conor Wilkinson cuts inside into an more central position and whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross which Ben Amos is able to gather with ease.

And From Here, Charlton Athletic create another decent goal-scoring opportunity as Ben Amos kicks the ball long down-field and Ben Nugent wins the aerial challenge up against Josh Magennis, and Charlton Athletic Supporters were screaming for a free kick, But No Free Kick Was Forthcoming, Luke O’Neill and Ricky Holmes are both battling and scrapping for the loose ball, and Ricky Holmes manages to get the ball back, get to the byline, and even though Luke O’Neill, Gabriel Zakuani and Max Ehmer were all down that side of the pitch, Ricky Holmes pulls the ball back across the face of goal towards Billy Clarke, who see’s his effort blocked and then cleared out of play by Alex Lacey, I said cleared off the line in my notepad, and it looked very likely that was the case in the highlights as well.

And Charlton Athletic had another chance to score from the resulting corner kick, as Billy Clarke takes the corner quickly to Chris Solly - bad defending from Gillingham - And Chris Solly takes a touch to control the ball before standing the ball up to the back-stick, and Patrick Bauer’s Header is on target and headed off the line by Mark Byrne, and Conor Wilkinson gets to the loose ball and manages to kick the ball long down-field and away from Gillingham’s Goal, Charlton Athletic have also made there first substitution of the match as Joseph Dodoo comes on to replace Tarique Fosu, Charlton Athletic are replacing one attacking player with another in an attempt to try and get back on to level terms.

Seventy Minutes Into The Match, and Gillingham look like they are going to hit Charlton Athletic on the counter attack, Josh Parker plays the ball back to Alex Lacey, who plays the ball forward to Conor Wilkinson, and Conor Wilkinson has the strength to retain possession of the ball and lay the ball off to Mark Byrne, who clips the ball out-wide to Luke O’Neill, In Charlton Athletic’s Final Third Down Charlton Athletic’s Left Side Of The Pitch, Luke O’Neill has managed to get himself into a decent position, however, his low cross was too close to Ben Amos, and the goal-scoring opportunity was spurned for The Gills, Gillingham are then awarded a defensive free kick as Joseph Dodoo is penalised for his challenge on Ben Nugent.

And In The Seventy Second Minute, The Substitution That I was expecting was made as Connor Ogilvie came on to replace Luke O’Neill, who has been up against it against Jay Dasilva and Ricky Holmes, But Luke O’Neill was walking on thin ice with that Yellow Card, and Connor Ogilvie will play at Left Back, so who is going to play at Right Back ??? - Does everyone move one across and Ben Nugent plays At Right Back, Max Ehmer and Ben Nugent are also on Yellow Cards, so one of our remaining substitutes may well have to be used to take one of those two off, and because of this, I cannot see Liam Nash playing for Gillingham against Charlton Athletic, I think we are likely to see one off Jesse Starkey or Jake Hessenthaler come on to freshen things up for Gillingham Defensively.

A Minute Later, And Mark Byrne’s Speculative Effort From Distance Deflects Off Jason Pearce and runs out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, Unfortunately, Gillingham do not create an meaningful goal-scoring opportunity from the resulting corner kick, as Conor Wilkinson’s in-swinging cross towards the back-stick is over-hit and goes out of play, A Minute Later, And Alex Lacey Wins Gillingham A Throw On Down The Right Side Of The Pitch, and Alex Lacey throws the ball down the line towards Josh Parker, who retains possession of the ball before dropping the ball off out-wide to Alex Lacey, who checks inside centrally and tries to pick out Tom Eaves with an dangerous in-swinging cross, But Ben Amos was able to gather the ball with ease, and from here, Charlton Athletic turn defence into attack, as Ben Amos plays the ball out-wide to Jay Dasilva, who threads the ball down the line towards Billy Clarke, and Alex Lacey slides in to try and take out Billy Clarke, but The Charlton Athletic Number Ten goes on a mazy run down the flank and looks to whip in an dangerous in-swinging cross, but well done to Mark Byrne who manages to go toe to toe with Billy Clarke, get back, make the challenge and concede a corner kick.

And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Chris Solly has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross and Patrick Bauer has headed the ball back across the face of goal, and Tomas Holy takes no chances by punching the ball clear and away from Gillingham’s Goal At The Expense Of Another Corner Kick For The Visitor’s, and Thankfully, this time, Charlton Athletic were wasteful with the resulting corner kick, and Tom Eaves went on a decent run down the left side of the pitch as Gillingham look to gain some yards to try and relieve the pressure building on to our goal.

Seventy Six Minutes Into The Match, And Joseph Dodoo has tried his luck from Twenty Yards Out, And The Charlton Athletic Substitute see’s his low effort on goal saved by Tomas Holy, After that save from Tomas Holy, Gabriel Zakuani is now down requiring treatment and after a two minute stoppage in play, Gabriel Zakuani is unable to continue, And Jake Hessenthaler has come on for The Experienced Centre Back, and I can only assume that means that Max Ehmer will drop back into his natural central back role, while Jake Hessenthaler will play as The Central Defensive Midfielder, But Charlton Athletic show poor sportsmanship, because Tomas Holy threw the ball out of play for Gabriel Zakuani to receive treatment, Charlton Athletic do not give the ball back to Tomas Holy, and instead knock the ball out of play for a throw on instead.

Gillingham are now on the back-foot, Max Ehmer has made another decent clearance, but this is only a temporary reprieve, as Jay Dasilva passes the ball down the line towards Ricky Holmes, who has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the back-stick to try and pick out Josh Magennis, thankfully, Ricky Holmes dangerous in-swinging cross is over-hit and goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

Charlton Athletic Make A Double Substitution In The Eightieth Minute, as Karlan Ahearne-Grant and Ezri Konsa come on to replace Jake Forster-Caskey and Billy Clarke, and then what was really strange was Referee Graham Salisbury booking Tomas Holy when Charlton Athletic are making a double substitution, the pressure shows no sign’s of subsiding as Josh Parker has a very soft free kick given against him, as Josh Parker is penalised for his challenge on

Karlan Ahearne-Grant In The Eighty Second Minute, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Ricky Holmes dangerous in-swinging cross is well gathered by Tomas Holy who really is having an exceptional game in-between the sticks for Gillingham.

A Minute Later, And Jake Hessenthaler does brilliantly to retain possession of the ball for Gillingham down the right side of the pitch in Charlton Athletic’s Final Third, and Chris Solly is not only penalised for his challenge on Jake Hessenthaler, But Chris Solly is shown A Yellow Card As Well, Great Work By Jake Hessenthaler to win the resulting free kick, but before the free kick could be taken, A Few Idiot Charlton Athletic Spectators Decided to throw flares and smoke bombs on to the pitch, three smoke bombs were thrown on to the pitch and the fumes from these pyrotechnics are very dangerous to inhale, and we have just had The Terrorists Security Level Raised To Critical After what happened in London the week before, and supporters were searched before entering the stadium, clearly the searching wasn’t good enough to prevent some people bringing flares / smoke bombs with them inside Priestfield Stadium.

My sympathies go out to the genuine Charlton Athletic Supporters who had to breath in the fumes from these dreadful devices, and also, this could well see Charlton Athletic’s Away Support reduced or banned for future away games if this isn’t swiftly dealt with by Charlton Athletic Football Club, this always appears to be the way with local away games, where away support for local away games is fantastic, at least 2,000+, But because it is a local away game, incidents like these are becoming more and more likely.

After A Three Minute Delay, Conor Wilkinson’s Dangerous In-Swinging Cross Towards The Far Post Is Slightly Over-Hit and runs out of play for A Charlton Athletic Goal-Kick, A Minute Later, And Gillingham Win A Throw On Down The Right Side Of The Pitch, And Jake Hessenthaler throws the ball down the line towards Mark Byrne who cannot quite get to the loose ball, as Jay Dasilva has done enough to shield the ball out of play for A Charlton Athletic Goal-Kick.

A Minute Later. And Tom Eaves defending from the front forces Jason Pearce to play an over-hit pass out-wide to Jay Dasilva which resulted in Gillingham being awarded A Throw On Down The Gordon Road Stand / Rainham End Side Of The Pitch, Mark Byrne’s Long Throw Down The Line is too long and Conor Wilkinson cannot keep the loose ball in play, as the ball runs out of play for A Charlton Athletic Goal-Kick.

Eighty Eight Minutes Into The Match, And Tom Eaves was penalised for his challenge on Ezri Konsa, and Charlton Athletic were enjoying an dominate spell in possession of the ball prior to that free kick being awarded, and it is from the resulting free kick where Charlton Athletic created an fantastic goal-scoring opportunity, Ahmed Kashi takes a touch and passes the ball square to Jay Dasilva, who takes a touch to control the ball, before hitting a high and diagonal ball into the heart of Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Jason Pearce wins the aerial challenge up against Ben Nugent to header the ball down into Josh Magennis’s Path and Tomas Holy is off his goal-line to claw the ball away from The Charlton Athletic Striker, then the follow up effort from Ezri Konsa is brilliantly saved by Tomas Holy, and again, Ezri Konsa see’s his second attempt on goal saved by Tomas Holy and Gillingham are hanging on by the skin of our teeth, and Charlton Athletic can still pile the pressure on to Gillingham’s Goal From The Resulting Corner Kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Chris Solly has aimed his in-swinging cross towards the back-stick and Jason Pearce cannot direct his header on target and Gillingham Survive another onslaught on to our own goal.

But that is only because Tomas Holy has made three excellent saves in quick succession, clawing the ball away from Josh Magennis and saving the follow up effort’s on goal from Ezri Konsa, you can point to poor finishing from Charlton Athletic, But Tomas Holy has done brilliantly to keep Gillingham’s Slender 1-0 Lead In-Tact, and the effort and commitment that Gillingham are putting in is taking it’s toll, as Sean Clare is now down requiring treatment and there was relief all-round Priestfield Stadium when Sean Clare got back on to his feat and Sean Clare was OK to continue playing.

However, The Fourth Official Put His Board Up To Show NINE ADDITIONAL MINUTES OF ADDED TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - And It’s Gillingham who have the chance to make the three points safe, as Mark Byrne has possession of the ball in Charlton Athletic’s Final Third Of The Pitch, And Mark Byrne cuts inside into an more central position to evade Ahmed Kashi’s Attempted Challenge, and Mark Byrne see’s his driven effort on goal blocked by Patrick Bauer and the ball runs harmlessly through to Ben Amos to make the save.

And A Minute Later, Josh Magennis is penalised for his challenge on Sean Clare, and Ricky Holmes is booked for needlessly kicking the ball away, A Booking which will see Ricky Holmes suspended for Charlton Athletic’s Next League Game As Ricky Holmes has accumulated five yellow cards already this season, However, Ninety Three Minutes Into The Match, And Ben Nugent is penalised for his challenge on Josh Magennis, And Ben Nugent is walking on a very thin ice, as Ben Nugent has already been shown A Yellow Card, And Charlton Athletic have been awarded a free kick in a very promising position on the pitch, thankfully, although Ricky Holmes has whipped in an fantastic in-swinging cross, The Linesman Down The Medway Stand / Brian Moore Stand Side Of The Pitch had his flag raised for offside, and this decision has relieved pressure building on to Gillingham’s Goal.

Ninety Four Minutes Into The Match, And Ben Nugent is again penalised for his challenge on Josh Magennis, as the aerial battle between centre back and centre forward continue’s, and I have got to say that Referee Graham Salisbury has been very lenient here, Another Referee may have taken the decision to send Ben Nugent Off, But It Is From This Free Kick Where Charlton Athletic Create Another Goal-Scoring Opportunity, as Ricky Holmes has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Jason Pearce’s Header goes wide of Tomas Holy’s Left Hand Post - as Jason Pearce tries to score at the near post or knock the ball down for one of his team-mates to try and score, and the onslaught on to Gillingham’s Goal is just one-sided, and such is the dominance in play, Conor Wilkinson is playing at Right Back to try and help Gillingham hang on to this lead, and it is from this side where Charlton Athletic continue to apply the pressure as Jay Dasilva has whipped in another sensational cross, and Tomas Holy is off his goal-line to gather the ball, great catch, and a catch which takes the pressure off Gillingham’s Defenders as we’re slowly running down the clock for Gillingham’s First League Win Of The Season.

But there is still time for Charlton Athletic to throw a spanner into the works and equalise late on, and before Charlton Athletic had the chance to score, a blatant foul by Patrick Bauer on Tom Eaves see’s no free kick awarded in Gillingham’s Favour, much to the dismay of every Gillingham Supporter Inside Priestfield Stadium, However, Play Continued as Charlton Athletic are pilling on the pressure on to Gillingham’s Goal, and Mark Byrne has managed to kick the ball clear deep into Charlton Athletic’s Half Of The Pitch.

And It Is From Here where Charlton Athletic create there goal-scoring opportunity, as Ben Amos has no-one around him so he can get to the loose ball out-side his penalty area, take a touch to control the ball before passing the ball forward to Patrick Bauer, who plays the ball out-wide to Jason Pearce, who takes a touch to control the ball before kicking the ball long down-field and Max Ehmer wins the aerial challenge up against Josh Magennis, and Erzi Konsa gets to the loose ball and plays the ball back to Ahmed Kashi, who plays the ball out-wide to Karlan Ahearne-Grant, who has possession of the ball down the right side of the pitch - Gillingham’s Left - and Karlan Ahearne-Grant has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross and Josh Magennis’s shot on the turn is routinely saved by Tomas Holy.

Ninety Seven Minutes Into The Match, and Gillingham had the chance to make all three points safe, Patrick Bauer plays the ball out-wide to Jay Dasilva, who runs forward in possession of the ball, and Jay Dasilva plays a driven ball forward into an more central position on the pitch and Ben Nugent times his challenge on Ricky Holmes to perfection, and Josh Parker gets to the loose ball ahead of Jay Dasilva, and Josh Parker chests the ball down to Mark Byrne, who runs across to the left side of the pitch and Mark Byrne delay’s his pass before finally playing the ball down the line towards Tom Eaves, and Tom Eaves takes a touch to control the ball, run into a better shooting position as Tom Eaves is up against Chris Solly, and Tom Eaves manages to get a shot off on goal on the edge of Charlton Athletic’s Penalty Area, just as Ahmed Kashi slides in to try and make a block, and Tom Eaves see’s his low effort on goal split by Ben Amos, who manages to make a recovery save to prevent Conor Wilkinson from scoring the re-bound.

There is still time for Charlton Athletic to get on the front-foot, as Jay Dasilva and Ricky Homes are linking up nicely down the left side of the pitch, and Jake Hessenthaler has timed his interception to  perfection to kick the ball out of play for A Charlton Athletic Throw On, Down The Gordon Road Stand / Brian Moore Stand Side Of The Pitch, Jay Dasilva’s Throw was taken too quickly, and Gillingham have been awarded A Goal-Kick.

Gillingham had the chance to make the points safe with a second goal, as Josh Parker breaks in possession of the ball, and Josh Parker threads the ball through to Tom Eaves, who is through and in on goal, But Tom Eaves is completely shattered, and Tom Eaves chooses the sensible decision to go towards the corner flag to run the clock down, and Tom Eaves is being double marked by Jay Dasilva and Chris Solly, and finally, after The Nine Additional Minutes Of Added Time have been played, Referee Graham Salisbury blows his whistle for full time and Conor Wilkinson and Josh Parker both collapse to the deck, and the celebrations can begin as Gillingham have finally won there first league game of the season.

FULL TIME: GILLINGHAM 1 - 0 CHARLTON ATHLETIC

GILLINGHAM HAVE FINALLY WON THERE FIRST LEAGUE GAME OF THE SEASON!!!!!!!! Sorry for the all caps response, But that truly was a hard fought 1-0 win for The Gills, and every Gillingham Player has had to put in a proper shift to earn Gillingham those three points, In-terms of talent, this squad doesn’t have players like Bradley Dack or Cody McDonald, who you always knew were capable of scoring whenever we needed a goal, but while this Gillingham Team does lack some stardust, the effort, the commitment and the endeavour that Gillingham put in against Charlton Athletic was there for all to see, and that is all we can ask for from these players, give it everything you got, and if the players battle and give it everything and come up short then you can accept that.

The players got the applause that there efforts clearly deserved, Tom Eaves scored the winning goal, Mark Byrne put in a massive shift, Max Ehmer assisted Tom Eaves goal and Max Ehmer put in a solid disciplined performance as A Central Defensive Midfielder, Ben Nugent and Gabriel Zakuani headed and cleared everything and I thought that Gabriel Zakuani had opened the scoring in the first half, but he was flagged for offside, and Conor Wilkinson has played the entire match, and that will boost his match fitness and match sharpness levels, there is more to come from Conor Wilkinson, who is getting there slowly, But we do need to see more from Conor Wilkinson over the next few games or so.

But One Player rightfully was given a lap of honour and a standing ovation all by himself,and that was Tomas Holy, who had his name chanted from the back of The Rainham End and applauded from every Gillingham Supporter In The Rainham End, Medway Stand and The Gordon Road Stand, While Stuart Nelson is A Legend and A Goalkeeper who has been exceptional throughout his time at Gillingham Football Club, It is clear for all to see that Tomas Holy Is Gillingham’s First Choice Goalkeeper and he fully deserves to remain in the side, because Tomas Holy has been one of Gillingham’s Most Consistent Players This Season.

Finally, I can breath a massive sigh of relief, because Gillingham really do put us supporters through a roller-coaster of emotions, and we really do make it difficult for ourselves, I got speaking to Bekah after the game and it was nice to be celebrating A Gillingham Win, Bekah kindly asked me if I was going to Rochdale Next Week and I mentioned I was going to Rochdale, our next away game after Rochdale is Blackburn Rovers and that’s the one that every Gillingham Supporter wanted to travel go to as soon as the fixtures were announced, that one is going to be a long long day, and a long trip on the coach as well, Lisa came round and wanted to take a photo of the score-board, but it has gone blank, I Said C Ya To Bekah, before heading towards the exit with Lisa, Gary and James, and that was tough, and of course there has to be nine additional minutes of stoppage time at the end of the match to make things even more nerve wrecking, but Gillingham have got the win, and that is what was important.

No-one saw that result coming, But what a great win that was and we haven’t had many results on A Saturday Afternoon to smile about, but winning against Charlton Athletic is a great way to pick up our first league win of the season, and when I met up with Stephen and Gary after the game, that’s the first thing we spoke about, that we were not expecting Gillingham to pick up all three points against Charlton Athletic, I had this match down as a draw in NoirCat and so did Stephen and a draw wouldn’t be a bad result, but to get the win is amazing, especially in the manner in how Gillingham got the victory as well.

Gary Mentioned that we played for One Hundred And Five Minutes In Total, There was five minutes of stoppage time at the end of the first half, and nine minutes of stoppage time at the end of the second half, which was closer to ten minutes according to Gary, as there was more time added on, There were so many exceptional performance from every single Gillingham Player, and of course, our focus is going to be on Tomas Holy, who was sensational in-between the sticks for Gillingham yet again, especially that triple save in the second half, and Gary made the point that had Tomas Holy made a error that led to A Charlton Athletic Equaliser, then everyone would talk about the goalkeeping error, and no-one would mention the saves that kept the score-line level at 0-0 before Tom Eaves opened the scoring.

And speaking of Tom Eaves, now there was a player who really did put in a shift up-front and Tom Eaves took his goal really well, and Gary mentioned that when Tom Eaves scored, he just looked liked a completely different player, Giving Charlton Athletic Defenders A Tough Time, putting himself about, being a pest up-front and putting in a traditional number nine performance up-front, That’s Four Goals For Tom Eaves and at the start of the season, Tom Eaves had ambitions to reach Twenty Goals, and they may well be unachievable aims, well, Tom Eaves has twenty percentage of that goal tally already and if Tom Eaves can get close to twenty goals then fair play, I actually thought that Tom Eaves would score between five to ten goals for Gillingham This Season, and Tom Eaves only needs one more goal to reach five goals and he is almost at fifty percent of the number of goals I thought Tom Eaves was going to score for Gillingham This Season.

And who knew that Max Ehmer could play as A Central Defensive Midfielder, because when we saw Gillingham’s Starting Line Up, I just thought it was A Back Five With O’Neill, Ehmer, Zakuani, Nugent, and Lacey with Byrne as The Defensive Holding Midfielder and Clare and Wagstaff would support Eaves and Wilkinson In Attack, it took ages for us to guess how Gillingham would line up and Max Ehmer was booked early on, but since that booking, Max Ehmer put in a strong display in the middle of midfield, and when Gabriel Zakuani was substituted because of injury, Max Ehmer slotted into the heart of defence, and there were so many sensational individual performances, It took four minutes for Mark Byrne to put that head bandage on, but from then onwards, Mark Byrne was everywhere, very tenacious, put himself about even tracked back fifty yards to make a block and concede a corner kick, and Gary had Mark Byrne down as A Potential Candidate For Man Of The Match, But we just cannot look past Tomas Holy, who was superb in-between the sticks yet again.

It really was a backs against the wall performance from The Gills, there were goal-line clearances from Alex Lacey and Mark Byrne, and when there was no-one in a position to make a block, Tomas Holy was Gillingham’s Last Line Of Defence, and boy he really did step up to the task, you can see how much effort the players put into the match because when the full time whistle went, they just collapsed to the floor, and that tells you just how much of a shift the players had to put in to earn those three points, because that was a team performance, that was a performance where the team recognised that we’re not going to be able to play Charlton Athletic off the park with skill and flair, but let’s put in more effort, and make sure that the team ethic can beat players of quality like Ricky Holmes, and that’s what Gillingham were able to do, mind you, Ricky Holmes was superb and Jay Dasilva was also a threat, and that’s why I think Luke O’Neill was substituted, because he was on A Yellow Card, and he was up against those two all game, any full back will struggle against those two, because Jay Dasilva is quick, and Ricky Holmes should be playing in The Championship.

Gary mentioned that this was Gillingham’s First League Win Against Charlton Athletic In Eighty Eight years - 23rd Of March 1929 to be precise - Gillingham did win 3-2 against Charlton Athletic in The FA Cup Back in 2004, but you have to go back to The 1920’s For Gillingham’s Last League Win Against Charlton Athletic, I just hope we do not have to wait another Eighty Eight Year’s For Gillingham to win against Charlton Athletic in the league.

We spoke about the pyrotechnics being thrown on to the pitch, and it always appears to be the case that whenever your traveling to a local away game, you get a few day trippers who pretend to be ultra’s and ruin the experience for there own supporters, because I was in The Away End When one of these pyrotechnics were thrown on to the pitch on the opening day of the season last season away at Southend United, and the same again for Peterborough United, the fumes from these devices are dangerous to inhale, but there could be A FA Punishment for Charlton Athletic, as well as reducing the number of away supporters who go to up and coming away fixtures, and that is only going to affect the genuine football supporter.

But if there is one person who isn’t going to be affected by three flares on to the pitch, and that is Tomas Holy, Have you seen The Slavia Prague V Sparta Prague Derby, The Rivalry for this game is very intense and Gary jokingly added that when Tomas Holy picked up one of the flares, that Tomas Holy should have hurled the flare back into the away end, Once again, we could only lavish and praise Tomas Holy’s Goalkeeping Performance In-Between The Sticks, and if Tomas Holy can keep this form going then he will be Gillingham’s Player Of The Season This Season.

Gary decided to head off, and Stephen headed off to The Factory to get something to drink, Stephen added that we can get some posts going on The Gills Debate Website and talk more about the match on Social Media, I Said C Ya To Stephen and Gary, While Me And Diane went towards The Player’s Entrance, Me And Diane were speaking about the up and coming match against Phoenix Sports In The Kent Senior Cup, and I mentioned that those who played against Charlton Athletic won’t play against Phoenix Sports, But Steve Arnold would be in goal, Ryan Huckle and Jack Tucker will play in defence along with Aaron Simpson, Midfielders Darren Oldaker, Ben Chapman and Jesse Starkey will be involved, And Greg Cundle, Liam Nash and Elliott List would all feature for Gillingham In Attack, so it would be a strong side, and plenty of our young players will be in the squad and it would be good to see them all feature and see what they can do.

As for travel plans, I mentioned to Diane that VCD Athletic and Phoenix Sports are right next to each other so it would make little difference out of who went through out of these two sides, Diane asked what time should we leave for Phoenix Sports, as rush hour traffic is likely to add further travel time, I mentioned that we should look into how long it would take to get there before making certain on what time we should be leaving, Faversham Town are out and Stephen wanted Faversham Town V Gillingham In The Kent Senior Cup as he missed The Pre-Season Friendly.

But our plans for The Kent Senior Cup Tie against Phoenix Sports were put on the back shelf, as Me and Diane were told that Phoenix Sports drew and there FA Cup Replay is on Tuesday Night, So The Gillingham Game needs to be re-scheduled for another time, I haven’t been to Phoenix Sports Stadium Before, and I haven’t been to Blackburn Rovers Before Either, and I will get to tick both stadiums off in the same season.

We spoke with Gabriel Zakuani and Scott Wagstaff to find out the extent of there injuries, Scott Wagstaff needs to see a specialist, so he will be having his fingers crossed for good news, and likewise, we had our fingers crossed for Scott Wagstaff as well, Gabriel Zakuani added he was fine, but thanked us for our concern for his well-being, We also said well done to Mark Byrne, Sean Clare, Josh Parker and Max Ehmer, before waiting for Goal-Scoring Hero Tom Eaves, and we congratulated him for his goal, and Tom Eaves was pleased to be scoring a winning goal this time, and as Tom Eaves is A Liverpudlian, Diane asked the question Everton Or Liverpool, and Tom Eaves supports Liverpool.

I got a phone call from Dad about where was I, I mentioned I was still at Priestfield Stadium waiting for the crowd to disperse before making a move, Dad mentioned that Mum wanted Fish-Cake And Chips, and that I needed to ring when I was finally on the train, I wasn’t going to wait round for much longer and as Tomas Holy was still doing his Post Match Press Conference, I decided to make a move, I said C Ya To Diane as I made my way back to Gillingham Train Station, managing to get back to Gillingham Train Station in time for The 18.15 Train, Once The 18.15PM Train arrived, I got on the train and I looked on The Gillingham Twitter Feed and Re-Tweeted The Post Match Press Comments From Adrian Pennock, Tom Eaves and Tomas Holy and I Re-Tweeted A Few Player Tweets As Well.

Once The Train Arrived In Rainham at 18.20PM, I got off the train, and headed towards George’s Plaice to buy One Small Portion Of Chips and One Fish-Cake, And One Small Portion Of Chips And Two Jumbo Plain Sausages for £8.70, while I was waiting for my order, I saw Rob’s tweet, and Rob Posted The Following,,,,,,, All the Players gave everything today, Total commitment and effort, delighted they got what they deserved, I replied with the following,,,, The Players have set the standard with that performance, I hope Gills use the confidence gained from today’s result to kick on.

I collected my order once it was ready, and headed towards the car park as Dad was waiting for me, I got in The Car and finally Gillingham had got there first league win of the season and we really needed that win that is for sure, I always stay back behind the games to get post match analysis from Gary and Stephen so I cannot say if there was trouble at Gillingham Train Station, and if there was trouble, then staying behind longer was a sensible decision.

All in all, great to get the win, great to finally win against Charlton Athletic in the league because eighty eight years without A League Win against Charlton is a long long time, great to see the players put in the effort, work ethic and defend by putting there bodies on the line, the challenge for Gillingham, is to build on this, and that means getting points against Rochdale and Scunthorpe United, win both matches would be fantastic, four points would be decent as well - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[anaturalhigh-blog]

Jam packed July

Alright. Let’s talk post-Havasu, but pre-parents arrival. What has happened!?

Tara, Robyn, and I biked to Jazz in the Park on Sunday and we remembered to bring a blanket this time! It wasn’t that far of a bike, but I still sweat my balls off. Reality hit the next morning and I was back at work. While catching up on email, I stumbled upon a superb meeting ‘invite’. The very next day our team would be ending our day at 11am and going to Top Golf for a team event – blessed.  

On Thursday, a few of us girls tried a new Latin American restaurant in LoHi called Senor Bear. Honestly, I was the one that suggested it, but I quickly ate my words when I realized it was listed as $$$ on Yelp. I’m not into small portions with large prices, no matter how great the food is. I’m pretty sure 90% of the menu was in a different language, so we had a hard time deciding what we wanted. We all know what fajitas are, so we stuck with that. I don’t plan on going back there.

Erin (Miller), Robyn, and I left Saturday afternoon to make the 3 hour trek to Glenwood, Colorado. We drove through the town of Glenwood before heading to a camp site in New Castle. We had a few dispersed camp sites in mind, but Erin ran into a co-worker that recommended we go to a formal camp site nearby. Luckily, they had a spot left! We were told this was way safer than dispersed camping right now because the bears were getting aggressive…oh. It was a tiny little camp site split between RVs and tents.

First things first, we set up the tent. When I moved to Denver, my parents sent me our family tent since it was getting zero use in Virginia. I finally brought it out and became very giddy when we put it up. I immediately FaceTimed my parents to show them – major TBT. 

We walked around the camp site to check out the area, made a fire, and cooked the tin foil dinners Erin made for us. While we were eating dinner, a grown man drove by on a kid’s ATV. I guess he saw us stare and laugh because he came back and insisted we all take it for a ride. I felt like a kid and now I definitely need to go ATV’ing for real. .

We brought supplies for s’mores and I managed to eat about 4 before passing

We woke up, packed up the car, and made our way to Hanging Lake. We got there by 9:30am, but that was apparently too late. There was a huge line of cars ahead of us. If you look online, you’ll read that it’s a very popular hike because it’s on the shorter side with a breathe taking destination. Little do people know, it’s all uphill/downhill and very rocky – it’s not easy peasy. We found out dogs are not allowed on the trail, so Erin dropped us off and went to a nearby trail with her dog. Robyn and I made the hike in 2 hours total. The views were different from other hikes I’ve done. I’ll never forget doing a baby rock scramble, turning the corner, and seeing Hanging Lake..my god, it was incredible. 

We met back up with Erin and stopped at her favorite lunch spot in Vail, Yellowbelly. It was a great little getaway weekend with the girls!  

On Tuesday, Robyn and I went to see the Goo Goo Dolls at Fiddler’s Green. I like some of their old songs, but I’m not a huge fan. Robyn bought cheap tickets on Groupon months ago and asked if I would go with her. It was a good night of music…but, I’ll probs never go see them again. One and done, my friends.

Chelsea and Woody were in town that upcoming weekend, so we went to Mas Kaos for dinner on Friday. I drank a little more than I wanted to, but it was all worth it. They got engaged 2 days before I saw them, so I was happy to be able to celebrate their engagement with them!! We got a few pizzas and they were all soo good. The restaurant is split Italian and Mexican – I fully support it. After dinner, we bopped around to couple of bars…first to Local 46 in Tennyson and then we made our way back to downtown.

 Saturday = Music Festival = Happy Erin.

Robyn, Tyler, and Chelsea came over to drink a little before heading to Global Dance Festival. It was at Mile High Stadium aka a 10 minute drive at most! The festival was in the football stadium’s parking lot. There were 3 stages, but we stayed at one for most of the time. I was especially excited because all the rides at the festival were FREE. Most music festivals charge an absurd amount to ride them. My favorites were Lost Kings and Porter Robinson.

We ended up seeing: Ecotek, Lost Kings, a little bit of Bijou before Chris Lake, the end of 3Lau, Deorro, Spencer Brown, Excision B2B Datsik, and Porter Robinson. Solid day. 

We polished off the weekend with a nice breakfast at Fooducopia. Both Robyn and I got the Chocolove French Toast – chocolate, pb, nuts, bananas, and marshmallow whipped topping :)