The Hard Lessons

Last night I had the pleasure of enjoying yet another stellar performance by The Hard Lessons. Playing at the Magic Stick, for The Heidelberg Project benefit, the incredibly charismatic Detroit band started on the main stage as normal, but that's not where this show ended up. Unexpectedly, in the middle of their set, the band set of the siren and brought the show out to the main floor with a makeshift mobile amplifier, a child sized drum kit and a megaphone. From there, the crowd was moved downstairs where we hit a snag. The PA system was completely distorted, and at some points, not even working at all. But that didn't stop Augie from pushing a 10 minute improvised solo, doing whatever he saw fit, including hanging his guitar from the ceiling while crowd surfing, until the mic magically, on cue, decided to work. At the end of the performance, they asked what we wanted to hear. Someone jokingly shouted "Rock 'n Roll part 2", and to everyone's surprise, they played it! Augie then announced who else wants to play "stump The Hard Lessons", where they proceeded to play 3 more randomly shouted songs! For the finale, they played an original song taking the show to the streets, performing in the middle of Woodward Ave where they drove off, sirens ablaze, leaving with incredible style. With incredible music, and unbeatable stage performance, The Hard Lessons continue to dominate the local music scene. If you've never had the pleasure to see them perform, you can catch them tomorrow at Midwest Fest at Mixtape Cafe in Grand Rapids. Not enough notice? See them again at The Elbow Room in Ypsilanti June 4th.

OMG! Best. Show. Ever. Ended w/ The Hard Lessons playing in the middle of Woodward http://twitpic.com/1pwnzzSat May 22 05:44:10 via EchofonJohn Lewis
JohnTheJohnMan

Aang? Sokka? Katara? Who are these people?!

If you've been following my Facebook feed, you know I'm psyched about the new M. Night Shyamalan movie, The Last Airbender, to be released July 2nd this year. If you have no idea what this is, listen up! It's a movie based off the greatest cartoon series ever created, Avatar: The Last Airbender. You still catch reruns from time to time on Nickelodeon. The show is intentionally 3 seasons long separated by "books" water, earth , and fire. Each season we follow Aang, the Avatar, as he learns how to control each of the elements, based off real life martial arts styles, in order to restore balance and save the world. Epic, right?! I know, you think I'm lame, but just watch the first season and you'll be hooked. It's currently streaming on Netflix, so watch it! Below is the newest trailer for the upcoming live action movie featuring Appa, a flying bison, and the manipulation of the elements. I can't wait.

Old school game night

I know this sounds kind of lame, but i really want to have people over to play charades! I was watching an episode of The Totally Rad Show, and in one of the segments, they played charades. Looked like a lot of fun, and it's always good when we do it while playing Cranium, my favorite board game. So brush up on you charades signals, because this is going to happen.

A dinner that was meant to happen

This is a story of an awesome experience at BlackFinn, Royal Oak. Earlier this week, my mother called me offering a gift certificate for $25 to BlackFinn. It was going to expire on Friday, before she would be able to use it. Of course I'll take it! Two days later my cousin calls me offering another $25 gift certificate for the same reason. Already an awesome dinner has been handed to me, but it gets better. Our dinner included 2 martinis, a coke, calamari, fillet mignon, barbecue shrimp alfredo, and strawberry cheesecake. So good! When our server, Stephanie, came to check on us, we had switched plates. She asked what i like liked better. I told her the first time i had the fillet, I cried. This time no tears but still very good. She and the manager, Chris, wouldn't stand for that, stating they'd like to bring tears to my eyes every time! I told them repeatedly that the food was great, and there was no need to comp anything, but he wouldn't listen. The manager then not only comped the fillet, $25, as well as one of the drinks, $9, he gave me a $50 gift card to come back! All in all the meal cost a whopping $9.54. I highly recommend dining at BlackFinn, and when you go, ask for Stephanie. By far the best server I have ever had, from a professional and consumer point of view. BlackFinn is a little pricey, so sign up for their email club and visit on a Monday where the entire food menu is 25% off.

A dinner that was meant to happen. — at Blackfinn http://gowal.la/c/G5xCSat May 01 02:48:05 via GowallaJohn Lewis
JohnTheJohnMan

At it again...

I've decided to start blogging again, but for real this time. Check out the new site at http://www.johnthejohnman.com and let me know what you think. I'm open to suggestions.