Below are pictures from Ames on the Half Shell last Friday with Saucy Jack.
There are about 20 more images from that night in the Snapshots Gallery in the Ames Jaycees Album.
This Friday is Kountertop. If we don’t get rained out, it will most likely be my last Half Shell of the season. So come on down! It is just possible that I might buy you a drink.
Saturday was this guy’s birthday:
It was also the birthday of this punk:
While going through some pictures I found this picture:
It was a busy 4th of July.
I started the day at about 9 AM by moving mortars into place. Then at 10:30 I went over to Half Shell to help set up and serve beer until about 3 PM.
Check out some pictures from Half Shell.
Scott with the 1st Beer of Half Shell
Becky and Jenny
I switched from my “Beat Iowa” hat to a “Beer Nuts” hat for this Half Shell.*
Burnin’s Sensations
Sarah finishing off the pepperoni pizza that she didn’t want to be “too eager” for.
I don’t know what is going on in this picture.
At 3 I headed back to the fireworks area to set up sandbags. Fireworks was a very educational experience. For starters, fireworks don’t look anything like I thought they would look like. I thought they would look like giant bottle rockets or like the big red rockets that Wile E. Coyote shoots at the Road Runner. Instead, they look like this:
The main thing I learned though was that being in the pit or ground zero of a fireworks display is about a million times more entertaining and fun than watching a fireworks display.
To let off fireworks there is a dress code. You are required to wear boots, long pants, a cotton long sleeve shirt (polyester will catch on fire), a hard hat, safety glasses and ear protection. Even with all of that clothing and protective gear it is hard to put into words how powerful and loud the fireworks are in the pit. It is an intense experience.
I was really down in the pit to take some pictures. However, I was ordered to set off a couple of fireworks. So I set off three.
After we finished some clean up I went over to Jen and Derrick’s traditional 4th of July barbecue. I was asked the same question a few different times while I was there:
“Which fireworks did you light off?”
Shannon would usually answer the question: “The good ones.”
Although I enjoy her vote of confidence, that answer has no basis in fact. The truth is that you never get to see the fireworks that you light off. In fact, you barely ever see any fireworks at all. You feel them. You hear them. You never see them.
The steps to setting off the fireworks prevent you from ever seeing them. When you go to light off the fireworks you are handed a 5 or 6 foot pole with a road flare taped to the end. You approach the mortars with the flare pointed away from the fireworks. When you get near the fireworks you remove the protective sleeve that covers the fuse. Then you take a few steps back and light the fuse with the flare. As soon as the fuse starts to light, you turn your back to the fireworks, get low and move away from the mortars.
While you are moving away from the fireworks, there is another person acting as a spotter. The spotter tells you when it is okay to go light another fuse or to get down. Trust me, you definitely know when the shell has shot into the sky. You feel it. However, there are a couple of things that could go wrong. The shell could blow up in the mortar or the shell can come a few feet out of the mortar and then blow up. If these things don’t happen, you get to go back and light off more fireworks. But you never really get to see the fireworks that you light.
Here are a few pictures from the pit:
Charby moving boxes of fireworks.
Shannon putting foil on the Grand Finale mortars.
The line moving away from the explosion is the flare.
Fireworks.
More fireworks.
Peggy setting off fireworks.
Shannon watching.
Grand finale aftermath.
Of course there are about 80 more pictures in the Snapshot Gallery in an album named “Jaycees – Independence Day – 2008”.
When I concluded my evening at Jen and Derrick’s barbecue I found out that something pretty major had happened in my absence. However, that is not my tale. All I can tell you is that congratulations are in order next time you see them.
One last story.
While I was walking around Half Shell taking pictures two girls came up to me.
“Do you want to take our picture?” they asked.
“Why would I want to take your picture?”
“Because we are so cute.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah!”
“I can take your picture.”
I’ll leave it to you to make your own assessments about the level of cuteness these girls possess.
I have a feeling this is how the Girls Gone Wild guy got started.
*I bought a new hat for this coming Half Shell on Saturday. I think it is perfect.
Ames on the Half Shell was rain shortened on Friday night. At least we got in about half of the concert. I only had to go on stage to make a brief speech about our sponsors when it started to rain. I didn’t get a chance to announce last call or really make the FULL sponsor speech. I also was denied the chance to announce last call. Oh well, I still got to do the radio interview for 105.1. I think I came off as a tad bit arrogant.
Here are some pictures.
There are about 40 more images in the Ames on the Half Shell – 2008 Gallery.
Ames on the Half Shell is a bit different this week. Since Friday is Independence Day there are a ton of stuff planned for downtown Ames by the Main Street Cultural District. Half Shell will run from 1-6 instead of 5-8. The bands will be Burnin’ Sensations and The Nadas.
It took until June 26, but finally I saw a movie that I loved this year. I finally saw my Once of 2008. I finally saw a movie I’m willing to call great. Up until now the best movie I’ve seen all year is Son of Rambow, but even that movie was only very good and not great. The first movie that I love from 2008 is Young @ Heart.
If this movie is playing near you, I urge you to run out and see it. The only thing I can say is “wow”. After this movie was over, not a single person left the theater until the credits were over. I haven’t seen that happen at a movie I’ve attended since Once. I haven’t even seen this happen for movies that try to blackmail you into staying until the end of the credits to see one last extra scene.
Below I’ve posted some videos from the movie. If you subscribe to this journal through e-mail or RSS feed, you will have to go to the website to see the videos. I think it is worth the trip.
If you think that this performance of Fix You is powerful (and it is) you should see it when it is put in the context of the movie. It will blow you away.
I repeat, if you have a chance, go see this movie.
Friday was another successful night at Ames on the Half Shell. Well over 400 people came out to see Vivace. I worked admissions and checked IDs, so I didn’t take as many photos as normal. Below is a sampling:
Of course there are a few other images in the Snapshots Gallery in the Ames Jaycees Album.
This week the band at Ames on the Half Shell is Box Brothers. A bonus source of amusement for you is (if I read the spreadsheet correctly) that I am the person that goes on stage to introduce the band.
Ames on the Half Shell is also a collection site for Flood Relief Donations. If you are looking to donate some items to help out fellow Iowans that were affected by the floods, you can bring the following items to Half Shell on Friday:
The items donated at Half Shell will be distributed to the areas hardest hit by the flooding. You can also make donations to the Red Cross at the door.
If you subscribe to this blog via RSS Feed or e-mail, you will actually have to go to the website to see the video embedded below:
This video is a rough cut from Ames on a Half Shell from last Friday. My friend Mike Vest came down and shot some video of the event for us.
Although this was actually the highlight of the night:
Last Friday was another hugely successful night for Ames on the Half Shell. The band was Burnin’ Sensations and they were phenomenal. Here are a few pictures from the evening.
Dennis
Sara
Birthday Girl
Scott
Derrick
Burnin’ Sensations
Chad
Andy and Charby
Working the Picnic Table
Possibly Discussing an UnHingd Reunion?
Every once in awhile when I’m editing pictures I find something that amuses me in a picture that was completely unintentional. Sometimes that happens when I’m not really concentrating, but just taking pictures quickly. One of those pictures above amuses me in just such a way.
I took a picture of one of the singers from Burnin’ Sensation out working the crowd. I was impressed by this because they were the first band to really work the crowd in such a fashion.
I think if there was somebody standing on top of my table playing a tambourine, I would probably be so impressed I would watch them, but that isn’t the case for everybody. Some people would rather text message.
I also made a panoramic image of the event. These are really hard to post because of their extreme width. So below I spun this image counterclockwise 90 degrees so that you can at least go through the image to some degree. It is also compressed to about 10% of its actual size. In its full resolution it is much crisper.
Of course there are about 40 more images in the Snapshots Gallery in an album named AOTHS-Burnin’ Sensations. It is located right next to the Family Night Photo Album.
I should also point out that I had a new life experience on Saturday. To say it was my life experience isn’t really fair, but I overheard something that I thought I would never hear, not even in Iowa.
After a long discussion about life with Becky on her sweet front porch, I made my way down to Tradewinds for the conclusion of Shannon’s birthday shindig. While I was there I was sitting at a table where a creepy guy was putting the “moves” on a lady friend.
One of the things he said to impress her was that he was once up to his nipples in pig feces. I guess you go with what you got, but if that is what you got, maybe you should lie.
Of course, it all happens again this Friday. Not the pig poo guy, but Ames on the Half Shell will happen again this Friday. 5-8 at Bandshell Park. 3 bucks gets you in the door. Another 3 bucks gets a beer in your hand.* 1 buck gets you some Red Monkey.
This week the band is Vivace. They are also excellent. They are one of the two bands that I booked. I got to play hardball with them. The conversation went something like this:
Me: So how much do you charge?
Vivace: XXXXXX bucks. A little more for an outdoor show.
Me: Well this is an outdoor show.
Vivace: Well we can keep it the same.
Me: Sounds like a deal.
Hope to see some of you there. Even my Corporate Sellout friends.
*Technically 3 bucks gets you an orange token that magically gets turned into beer at the beer tent.
Last Friday was Family Night for Ames on the Half Shell. By all measurable criteria the event was a smashing success. More than twice the amount of children made it to Family Night this year than last.
Plus I got to see many of my friends and their children. Take a look at some of the fun that was had on that evening.
Of course there are about 80 more pictures in on my website in the AOTHS Gallery.
Here is a Family Night Fun Fact. Despite the fact that there were 5 times the amount of children at Family Night than there were for the first night of of AOTHS and Red Monkey was free for children, less than half the amount of Red Monkey that was consumed on the first night was consumed on Family Night.
If you picked up what I was laying down with that big run-on sentence, you might be wondering how that was possible. The fact is that I am to blame. I laid off the Red Monkey during Family Night because I thought the youth of Central Iowa would pick up my slack. They did not. Now I have to hit the Red Monkey doubly hard this Friday night to make up for lost time. But I mean really, what is wrong with this generation?
I also learned a few things on Family Night. I learned that Shannon can’t blow bubbles. I learned that if you sign up to run the 5K during Scandinavian Days they give you a pretty sweet free shirt. I learned that Becky proved that she doesn’t know anything about hats because she wore a balloon hat around most of the night. I learned that even if you have somebody watching the bounce house, children will get in a fight and scare other small children. I learned that the Baier children will take their tats like men when the time comes for them to get their tats. I learned that security is such a tough job that I didn’t get a chance to talk to everybody nearly as long as I had hoped.
Of course I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that Ames on the Half Shell will happen again this Friday night. This week the band is Burnin’ Sensations and they are excellent. If you have a hole in your schedule between 5-8, this is the place to be. Also Friday is somebody’s birthday. I don’t wish to embarrass them (yet), but at the very least it is worth the price of admission (79 cents less than a gallon of gas) to wish her a Happy Birthday!*
Plus it is Friday the 13th. I’m not a superstitious person, but it might be a good day to be in a large crowd.
*That exclamation mark is not a random choice of punctuation.
If you are sitting around your home with nothing to do with a flock of kids by your side this Friday night, then I have good news for you!
This Friday is Family Night at Ames on the Half Shell and there are plenty of activities for children.
In fact, I’ll just give you a list:
Of course there are also adult activities.
The event kicks off at 5 PM and lasts until 8 PM. It is in the Bandshell Park near downtown Ames. This is followed by an After-Hours Party at London Underground.
Admission is 3 bucks and children under the age of 10 get in free.
I will see you there.
*When I was serving beer last week more men than I would have guessed ordered Mojitos. I don’t think that they were all ordering them for their girlfriends or ladies they were trying to impress.