wildyams

Yesterday Dave and I went out to the Key Club at Casino Morongo in Cabazon to see the first (and only) Nine Inch Nails concert for fanclub members only. I joined the fanclub back in November because I heard they were going to be touring again this year and because fanclub members get the first crack at the best tickets, so I figured it would be worth it even if I only went to one show (the membership was only $30 for a year). The membership definitely paid off because I was able to get two tickets to this show in a venue that only held 900 people (meaning it was much smaller than even the Soma show Dave, Rebecca and I went to last year on the "club tour" leg of the tour).

Dave and I left at around 1 or so in the afternoon to get out there. Even though the doors didn't open till 7 we wanted to get the early start to try to avoid as much of the traffic as possible, because we knew on a Friday afternoon it would be really bad going East out of LA on the 10 with people wanting to go to Vegas or Big Bear or Palm Springs for the weekend. We did hit some traffic, but it definitely could have been worse. We got out there at around 4 or so and just hung out, got something to eat, Dave gambled a bit, and then when they started letting people in we got in the line (some people had been waiting in that line since the previous day).

We got right in and found a comfy place to sit and wait through Saul Williams, the opnening act. Neither of us had heard Saul Williams before, but he was pretty cool, and an interesting choice for an opener for a band like NIN because he was hip-hop. The music wasn't really hip-hop, I guess, it was more like industrial jungle or something, but he was rapping over it. Anyway, towards the end of his set, Dave and I hit the bathroom and then waited till he was done before trying to grab a spot on the floor. We were able to get spots at the very back of the room, which was fine cause it was about maybe 30 feet from the stage (the place was tiny). We chatted with some girl who'd come down from Northern California with a friend to see the show beforehand while we waited for the band to come on.

When NIN came on and the lights went out, everyone just rushed the stage and Dave and I ended up maybe 10-15 feet from the stage and that's where we spent the whole night. The band mixed up their set a little bit from what they've been doing, and they didn't bring any of their own lighting effects at all (they did have lighting at Soma even), and instead just went with the house lights. Many people there, myself included, were hoping because it was a fanclub-only show that the band would play a couple songs that are seldom played, but they didn't, unfortunately. That was one of my only complaints, the other being that either because the place was so small or because there were security guys throughout the place that there wasn't ever really a pit, despite the efforts of me and a few others. Oh well, it was fun anyway, and they did play Mr. Self-Destruct which I hadn't heard live since 1994 (although they've been playing it regularly on this tour at shows I hadn't been to).

All in all it was a great show, although both Dave and I agreed it wasn't as good as Oakland. I would say it was better than Soma though, so I'd put it as the second-best NIN show I've ever been to. NIN is playing again tonight in Vegas (I'm not going ) and then this leg of their tour will come to a close. They'll play again this summer and will be in LA in July with Bauhaus opening for them, and I'm sure I'll be at that show as well. Tonight I'm going with Dave and Jen out to Claremont to see Cella and his band play, cause it's been a long time since we've seen Cella. Anyway, I gotta go get ready and leave, but maybe I'll write some more tomorrow.

I haven't blogged in a while, but I felt that after tonight's Lakers game, I really should say something. The Lakers ended the season on a real good run, winning 11 of their last 14 games, and winning their last 5 in pretty decisive fashion. They finished with 45 wins, 11 better than last year, far above most people's expectations, and back in the playoffs after missing them last year. So the Lakers were looking good, but they still went into the playoffs as the 7th (out of 8) seeded team in the West and are currently matched up against the 2nd seeded Pacific Division champs, the Phoenix Suns. Phoenix features last year's MVP award winner, Steve Nash, who reportedly will win it again this year as well, despite the fact that he's never even been to the NBA Finals. Nevertheless, going into the playoffs, the Lakers had not beaten the Suns with Nash on the floor since Shaq left LA two years ago, so it's not exactly a dream matchup for the Lakers. However, a surprising number of people, including national media, picked the Lakers as the most likely surprise upset in the first round, if there was going to be one. The main reasons for that are Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson, who simply know how to win in the postseason.

Ok, now that I've brought the situation up to speed, the Lakers entered Game 1 with a good game plan, but clearly were a little shaky, what with most of the team having little to no playoff experience, and facing the league's most explosive offense and best shooting team. LA figured to exploit their size advantage and use Kwame Brown and Lamar Odom to post up and score down low. In Game 1 LA got into a big hole in the first half, down 14, before climbing back to take the lead, briefly, in the 4th quarter. With the game going down the wire, the usually clutch Kobe Bryant missed a number of key shots and the Lakers ended up losing. Kobe took a lot of heat for not trying to score enough, but the Lakers played Phoenix much better than they had all year (with Nash in the game), so even in the loss there were signs of encouragement. Those signs would prove to not just be wisps of hope.

Tonight the Lakers came out and won Game 2 in Phoenix, evening the series at one game apiece, and they did it by dictating the pace of the game and by playing smart, efficient basketball. Fueled by a 19-0 run in the first half, the Lakers grabbed the lead for good late in the first quarter and stayed in control for most of the game. Phoenix cut it as close as three points in the second half, and stayed within about 7-8 points of the Lakers for most of the 4th quarter, but the Lakers played well down the stretch and pulled out the upset win that has to have Phoenix a little worried with the series going to LA for the next two games. As the game was winding down, there was one play in particular which was a huge highlight, which I have provided a video link to, below:

After the game, Charles Barkley on TNT summed things up perfectly by saying that the Lakers have a great gameplan, but that they need to continue to play focused basketball they way they have in the first two games if they want to win. Really, the Lakers can't afford to make many mistakes at all, because the Suns are so dangerous on offense. But Phil Jackson is a fantastic coach who has the team well-prepared for these games, and with Kobe Bryant the Lakers have the world's best player out there helping out. Because of this, I think the Lakers have a fighting chance of pulling the huge upset and possibly facing the cross-town rival Clippers in the second round.

"For some players, luck itself is an art." - The Color of Money

It all started late last night. Well actually, since my last entry, I guess you could say it started Friday night when the Lakers won Game 3 at home to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven series with the #2 seeded Phoenix Suns. But for me it began late last night when I checked my email and saw I'd gotten an email from Liz to the effect that she and her fiance Keith (probably the biggest Laker fan I've ever met) might have an extra ticket for today's game (Game 4) and she would call me back in the morning if they indeed did have it. This morning I got the call that the ticket was available, and I wasn't gonna miss this, even though I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach that the Lakers inexperience might cause them to let up and lose. In retrospect I'll be eternally grateful that I went, because today's game has to go down as one of the all-time best games in the Lakers' storied history.

Early in the game it seemed my misgivings might have been correct as the Lakers fell behind by a small amount early and were then forced to play all but 8 minutes of the first half (30 minutes long) without Kobe Bryant due to foul problems. The Laker reserves held up well though and the Lakers surprisingly went into halftime tied. Through the second half the Lakers tended to trail by roughly 3-5 points and it stayed that way till the very end of the game. With the Lakers down 5 points with the ball and about 20 seconds to play, it seemed that Phoenix was going to escape with a win and send the series back to Phoenix with the series tied at 2 games apiece. However, Smush Parker came down and hit a big three pointer to put the Lakers down by 2 with Phoenix with the ball and maybe 10 seconds or so to go. With Phoenix having the league's best free throw shooter in Steve Nash on the floor, it seemed that all the Suns had to do was get it to Nash and wait for the Lakers to foul, then have him hit the two free throws to put the game out of reach. Only part of that is what actually happened, however. Nash got the ball, but Smush Parker, who figured he had nothing to lose, tried to steal it from Nash rather than foul him, and miraculously he got the ball away from Nash where Devean George recovered it. Rather than take a timeout (the Lakers probably didn't have any), they raced upcourt as Devean gave the ball to Kobe Bryant. Kobe drove in through a ton of defenders and flipped up a really remarkable shot which floated through the hoop with less than a second remaining, and after Phoenix failed to hit a last-second shot to win the game went into overtime.

In overtime once again the Lakers fell behind, and once again it got down to the very end of the game with the Lakers down three with the ball and about 15 seconds to go. Kobe drove in and made a layup giving the Suns the ball out of bounds with both teams out of timeouts. Once again, you would think if Nash could just get the ball and wait for the Lakers to foul him, he'd hit his free throws and the Lakers would have one last desperate shot to hit a huge three to send it into double-overtime. However, once again, the miraculous happened. The Suns inbounded the ball to Nash who raced upcourt where he trapped himself just over the halfcourt line. He picked up his dribble and waited for the foul, but instead Luke Walton grabbed the ball and tied him up and the refs called a jump ball. Walton is listed at about 8 inches taller than Nash, so he would seemingly have had the advantage for a jump ball, but with 6 seconds remaining and the Lakers not having a timeout, it would mean to win the Lakers would need to win the jump ball and hit a shot in 6 seconds without having the luxury of play stopping. Walton won the jump ball, having to tip it twice, but the second time he tipped it towards the out of bounds line near midcourt where Kobe tracked it down and grabbed it. Kobe then quickly drove upcourt where he was met by two defenders. With no time to do anything else Kobe rose up and took what may be the greatest shot in his career thus far: a jumpshot from just beyond the free throw line which swished with no time remaining giving the Lakers the win.

Being at Staples Center and seeing not one but two buzzer-beater plays like that was really incredible as the place just went absolutely nuts, despite the fact that some fans had left early when the Lakers fell behind by 5 in regulation with 20 something seconds left in the game. The crowd went absolutely wild when the Lakers won it and it took a number of minutes for the crowd to even begin to start filing out of the building. Out in the hallways as people were leaving, and then on the street as people were walking to their cars, people kept cheering and chanting "M-V-P!" over and over for Kobe (who reportedly will lose the MVP trophy this year to Steve Nash). It was really something to see so much happiness and joy all over the streets like that as Laker fans just were loving this win.

The Lakers can close the Suns out on Tuesday and become the first ever #7 seed to advance past the first round of the playoffs since the NBA went to a 7-game series for the first round. With the Clippers also winning last night to take a 3-1 series lead over the hapless Nuggets, it would seem that if the Lakers can advance, the Lakers and Clippers will meet in the playoffs for the first time in history in a "cross-the-hall" series in which all seven games would be played at Staples Center. If that happens, the city of Los Angeles will really be whipped into a frenzy with playoff basketball fever, although I expect (as would many) that the Lakers would effectively have home-court advantage in all seven games as there are many, many more Laker fans than Clipper fans here in LA.