A to Z, August 24, 2008
As Good As It Gets
The Boss rules: After an evening like this, three and a half hours of unbelievable musicianship, humility, grace, grinding drama and hell-bent spectacle, what else is there ["Show Review: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band," Annie Zaleski]? I have seen Springsteen numerous times before. And the shows were all great. Yet what made last night so phenomenal was the relentlessness of Springsteen and the band's passion. There was one slow song the entire night (they usually have at least five or more) and a three-minute break between the first set and the encore. Otherwise it was one climactic moment after another. The show was devoid of the typical trappings of arena shows required by most bands to fill the room: no wacky lights, no elaborate stage setup, no patronizing of the audience. Two individuals pulled from the crowd to get involved were children. Tell me anyone in the history of rock & roll who can pull off that kind of magic. This one will go down as one of the greatest concerts to ever hit this town.
Worldclassfad, via the Internet
Tardy Bruce: I think it was incredibly disrespectful to make his fans wait one hour and fifteen minutes before he started, and then the sound quality sucked so bad we left after an hour. I felt cheated!
Lazysurfer, via the Internet
Simply phenomenal: The crowd-surfing, feet-on-the-stage-but-leaning-back-into-the-crowd-relying-on-audience-members'-arms-and-hands-while-playing,the running-across-the-front-of-the-stage-laterally-and-sliding-on-his-knees-towards-the-end, the consistent banter with and dropping into the audience. The Boss didn't earn himself that nickname for no reason. The stamina, the exuberance, the spectacle, heck, the unbridled optimism. Phenomenal stuff. Long live the E Street Band.
Pancake Master, via the Internet
NEWS REAL, AUGUST 21, 2008
Call of the Wild
Don't hold that tiger: Thank you so much for continuing to cover the issue of Missouri's need for tougher exotic animal legislation ["Hold That Tiger," Keegan Hamilton]. There is so much more to this story than the general public knows.
Wesa-A-Geh-Ya's horrible reputation for safety violations, poor animal conditions and now maulings has been a wake-up call. It is even more of a shock to learn that twenty lions and tigers, two wolves, a mountain lion, a bear and a leopard departed Wesa for the G.W. Exotic Animal Park in Wynnewood, Oklahoma.
It is widely known in the animal rescue world that G.W. Exotic Animal Park breeds animals to keep itself supplied with cute babies to draw visitors to the park, profits by using them for public photo opportunities, and buys, sells and trades animals. They are a major supplier fueling the exotic animal trade. It is not a surprise that they are willing to come back for a second trip to pick up even more of these Wesa animals.Look at the numbers and imagine the living conditions that await these animals. G.W. Exotic Animal "Park" has more than 170 big cats and 1,400 animals on sixteen acres. I am a senior keeper at a big cat sanctuary in Florida that is accredited by T.A.O.S. — The Association of Sanctuaries. We currently house a little over 100 animals on over 42 acres and feel we are maxed out given the space we have. I can't even imagine what 1,570 animals crammed onto sixteen acres must be like!
It is time for the constituency of Missouri, as well as our national legislators, to put an end to this insanity. Why are the minimum standards of the Animal Welfare Act still not being enforced? Sometimes more government regulation is the only safe and right thing to do.
Bigcatadvocate, Tampa, Florida, via the Internet
NEWS REAL, AUGUST 7, 2008
Leave the Homeless Alone
Let's roll out some compassion: I was absolutely appalled by the article regarding Andy Martello and his crusade to close down the New Life Evangelistic Center ["The People vs. Larry Rice," Chad Garrison]. What a bunch of bourgeois elitists! The Reverend Rice and the New Life Center have done nothing but try to help the less fortunate. It was a fixture downtown long before Andy and company moved there. I suggest you start a neighborhood watch program and try to assist the police in cleaning up the local park and surrounding area. I believe that there is behavior in the area that is unacceptable and it should be stopped. I do not believe that the New Life center should be closed down. There are many people who utilize the shelter who are law-abiding citizens in need of some help. Andy, maybe you could show your son an example of a decent human being by doing some volunteer work at the center.
Marc Haynes, St. Charles
Errata
Last week we failed to credit Ella Taylor for her review of Frozen River. Additionally, we bungled the name of the firm that created our MasterMind Awards logos: It should have read designlab,inc.
