On Wednesday, I essentially dispensed with work as of 1 p.m. My first distraction was the Champions League Final between Manchester United and Chelsea. As a ManU fan, it was a roller coaster ride of emotion–should have been up 3-0 at half instead of tied 1-1, Chelsea had the better opportunities in the second half, Giggs somehow not scoring in the first extra time, Lampard’s shot off the crossbar. After 120 minutes, the match was still tied at 1-1, and I was exhausted.
Penalty kicks did not help my situation. Cristiano Ronaldo revealed his main weakness–his own ego–and missed his PK. That left Chelsea and England captain John Terry the opportunity to win if he made his kick. But he slipped, his kick went wide, and ManU won two rounds later when Edwin van der Sar saved Anelka’s attempt for Chelsea. Wow. A double for United. There is a pretty good pictorial over at Unprofessional Foul.
That evening, I went to Elvis Costello & The Imposters/The Police concert at Starplex (now called Superpages.com Center–yuck). (Holly wasn’t feeling well, so she didn’t make it.) I’ve seen enough 80s music lately (first Bon Jovi, then Van Halen), but I was hosting others who wanted to go–and I love Costello. I don’t know why Elvis decided to open for a band that hasn’t had a new album in 25 years, but he was excellent, as is the new album Momofuku. The setlist was too short for me:
- Stella Hurt
- Pump It Up
- Every Day I Write the Book
- American Gangster Time
- Flutter & Wow
- Clubland
- No Hiding Place
- Watching the Detectives
- Alison (duet with Sting)
- Go Away
- Peace Love & Understanding
Then The Police. I expected to recall every song even though I was never a huge fan of the group. I did not recognized a number of songs and didn’t care for a number of the arrangements for those I did recognize. Others seemed to enjoy it. The setlist:
- Bring On The Night
- Message In A Bottle
- Walking On The Moon
- Demolition Man
- Voices Inside My Head
- When The World Is Running Down
- Don’t Stand So Close To Me
- Driven To Tears
- Hole In My Life
- Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
- Wrapped Around Your Finger
- De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
- Invisible Sun
- Can’t Stand Losing You
Encore
- Roxanne
- King Of Pain
- So Lonely
- Every Breath You Take
- Next To You
