Category Archives: TSR

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After seeing Noel Gallagher’s post-Oasis project when it came through New York City a few months ago, I decided I’d try to catch his act again elsewhere.

I traveled to Milwaukee, WI for Tuesday night’s Noel show at the historic Pabst Theatre. My pal Photo came up from Chicago and we made a full day of it.

The gig was great and the venue was exceptional. Built in 1895 with the backing of brewery owner Frederick Pabst, the 1345 seat theatre has National Historic Landmark status. A massive chandelier hangs from the ceiling. The highest of two balconies is set at a very steep angle. We sat in the first balcony. It felt as if we were right on top of the stage. The distance between my seat and the performers was such that you saw everything in sharp detail without the aid of binoculars.

Milwaukee is a fun town. If you like taverns with great character and history, they’re all over the place. We hit three before the show.

1. Points East Pub: The bar opens at 3 PM, the grill at 4 PM. We got there a little after three and stuck around for the $2 burger special. It was dee-lish. Most unique was the bar’s preparation of Buffalo Wings. At Points East, the wings get a few minutes on the grill after the deep fry and outer coating is applied. It adds some crunch and extra flavor to the exterior.

2. The bar at Nest 725 of the Polish Falcons of America: This place is as Milwaukee as it gets. The century-old fraternal organization conducts business at this facility which includes a bowling alley and physical fitness space. The main bar above the bowling alley is oval-shaped. You definitely get the sense that the mission here is to be a hub for community involvement regardless of age. That there’s a classic bar in the middle of it all makes sense only because this is what Wisconsin does.

3. Uptowner: Dating back to 1884, this watering hole shows its age in a good way. It was a scruffy crowd gathered here for the couple rounds we enjoyed. The guy who sat next to me spent 30 minutes complaining about extreme pain in his right leg and lower back. When I finally was able to get a word in, I told him that I found that a cold beer often eases some of the discomfort one may have. To that, he raised his glass, smiled and thanked me for projecting optimism.

Noel closed with “Don’t Look Back” which is a pretty good way to send the crowd home. Regular keyboard player Mike Rowe was missing from this show to be back in the UK for the birth of a child. A roadie substituted and sounded good.

Before Photo went home Wednesday morning, we had breakfast at Michael’s Family Restaurant on the campus of Marquette University. In business since 1984, Michael’s has named its chunky, fried breakfast potatoes offering “American Fries.”  The coffee here hit the spot.

On Wednesday night, I hit the Bucks/Cavs game at the Bradley Center.  I bought a cheap seat in the upper level.  The place was empty despite the fact Milwaukee is very much in contention for the final playoff spot in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.  Attendance was announced at 11,849 but there couldn’t have been more than 7500 in the house.  Talented Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings appeared content to let his backcourt partner Monta Ellis take lots of shots.  Ellis ended with 30 points.  The Bucks won by 9.  The Cavs stink, especially without their injured star Kyrie Erving.  Cleveland has now lost nine in a row, most of them blowouts.

Before the game, I had a brat at the Milwaukee Brat House near the arena.  The plump link produced by the Usinger’s Sausage and Smoked Meats company was served on a soft, fresh pretzel roll.  Cooked in beer, this was a great bratwurst.

I flew the home team airline through Chicago.  The flight between Chicago and Milwaukee lasts just fifteen minutes.  The captain of the 50-seat regional jet that took me to Milwaukee on Tuesday said he reached a maximum altitude of just 7000 feet.

Tuesday was election day in Wisconsin.  Mitt Romney’s success there came amid what felt like the distraction and political fatigue of efforts to recall that state’s governor Scott Walker.  More than 900-thousand registered Wisconsin voters signed petitions to trigger the recall effort.  On June 5, Walker will face a yet-to-be-determined opponent in a bid to retain his job for the two-and-a-half-year balance of his four-year term.  It’s the first time in Wisconsin history a governor has been subject to a recall election.

The final leg of my return trip home featured a celebrity sighting on the Q33 bus of all places.  Bachelorette Emily Maynard sat near the front of the bus with a piece of luggage.  She agreed to take photos with several women (young and old) who recognized her and expressed disbelief that a television star would ride a city bus in Queens without a bachelor in tow.

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While it seems certain the US Supreme Court will vote 5-4 or even 6-3 in favor of killing the key provision of the only modern-day US effort to broaden national access to health insurance,  it would have been nice if we could have at least seen the nine men and women in black robes deliberate whether Congress owns the power to enact a law that compels a portion of the populace to buy basic coverage.

Cameras are prohibited in the US Supreme Court.  A few television reporters are allowed to sit in red benches on the left side of the courtroom but their news organizations can’t show pictures of what goes on inside.  That’s because Chief Justice John Roberts and the conservative majority says so.  If and when the current partisan split shifts left by one, the highest court in the land will join a majority of courtrooms in this country that allow broadcasters to share the public’s business with the public.

The person at home who wanted to learn how the landmark health care case was argued was limited to same-day audio access.  C-SPAN ran the delayed tape on three successive nights.  The public affairs network super-imposed head shots of the principals as they spoke to give it the most realistic look it could with what it had.

I watched C-SPAN’s presentation of Tuesday night’s replay of day two’s hearing.  The focus that day was on the individual mandate contained in the law.  It’s not slated to kick in for a couple years, but it’s the key mechanism of the “Affordable Care Act.”  Without it, most of the rest of the law goes under.

As it is now, those with health insurance bear substantial medical costs of the 40 million who don’t have coverage.  The Act gently forces the uninsured to get a policy.  Risk would be spread.  Skyrocketing insurance premium costs would get reined in for everybody and the country would move toward a healthier, more-balanced overall approach to consumption/timing of medical care.  I don’t really see how the mandate would be enforced for the millions living paycheck to paycheck, but let’s just assume that component of the law worked effectively.  That requirement seems like a concept Republicans would totally embrace.  It’s cutting out the freebie.  Why would the right side of the political divide want to scuttle the new law when the main thrust of it is to ask the down and out to pay their freight?  I don’t get it.  I don’t get the role reversal but that’s what this whole thing has become.  Opponents call the law “Obamacare” when in fact it was molded, watered-down and ultimately adopted by both chambers of Congress.

When Justice Anthony Kennedy (considered to be the swing vote) trumpeted the High Court’s long tradition of barring the government from telling individual citizens that they must perform “an affirmative act,” you got the sense this case was all over.

Scalia, Roberts and Alito all were downright hostile to the reasoning of the US government’s top legal representative.  I thought Solicitor General Donald Verrilli did a fine job explaining why the law was proper from a legal perspective but this court is stacked and it’s acting out along party lines.

Personally, I can’t get riled up that a final-say court controlled by conservatives will nullify a program that would have kept delivery of expanded health-care coverage in the for-profit realm.  The only way this country ever advances to a stage that treats health care access as a basic human right is if we eliminate outright the myriad of corporations that make huge money off the sale on insurance.  It needs to be under a single non-profit roof guided by a mission statement that everybody is covered and we all share in its success and failures.

I’m way beyond burning about everything coming down to blue and red.  I just want to see it on TV.

I want to see Clarence Thomas sit there and say nothing and act bored even though his wife is openly anti-Obama and is up to her ears in the Tea Party.

Justice Thomas hasn’t asked a single question during oral arguments in seven years!  He has said outside court he doesn’t want to get in the way of the lawyers making their cases.  But if you listen to oral arguments at all, you’d know participation by the bench is crucial.  It’s how right and wrong is sorted out and it’s the only way lawyer-speak gets cut through in favor of substantive exploration and application of relevant case law.  Justice Ginsberg is especially engaged without being overbearing in this respect.

For Thomas to never – ever – say a thing – during oral arguments is something I would like to see on TV.  A Jeff Toobin profile on Thomas last year is helpful understanding what it most look like.  Said Toobin:  “The Justices all sit in high-backed leather swivel chairs, and Thomas has set his so that he can recline so far that he appears almost to be lying down. He stares at the ceiling. He rubs his face. He does not appear to be listening. He closes his eyes and sometimes appears to be asleep. The over-all effect is rude, if not contemptuous.”

I want to see that on TV.  It’s 2012 and the American public can’t watch the highest court in the land go to work on the most important issues of the day?