Orel Family

Stevie Wonder at Little Caesar's Arena, Detroit. October 22, 2024 I've seen Stevie Wonder several times over the past 40 years, going back to a stadium show in Malmö, Sweden, that I remember mostly for getting there in the first place, and then for him doing a hilarious - and spot-on -- Jackson 5 medley. So it seemed almost a surprise to realize it's been almost a decade since I've seen him headline a show . Not that there have been many opportunities; he's basically been off the road since then. This tour was only announced 5 weeks ago, and covers just 10 dates, mostly in election battleground states. But don't accuse Stevie of lacking preparation! Stevie came in with a full band and horn section, a 20+ person orchestra, and was supported on some songs by a local choir. By the time of the finale, "Another Star," there were more than 50 people on the stage -- and somehow it all worked. There was a clear political tone to parts of the show. Before the...

Imagine the scene: Barefoot on the beach, a perfect cool breeze coming in off the water, and there in front of tens of thousands of celebrants, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. That was last night, for a unique performance to conclude the 2024 Sea Hear Now Music Festival . The festival was spearheaded by rock photographer Danny Clinch  in 2018; this was the first performance of the E Street Band. In order to be able to see Bruce and the band without the aid of giant video monitors, there were two basic options: either procure very limited and pricey "VIP" and "Platinum" tickets, or arrive many hours early to the 7th Avenue Beach where the Surf Stage was located. I arrived at the Surf Stage around 1:15pm; many had lined up before sunrise and no doubt would have done so earlier had it been permitted by event staff. Getting to the stage early also meant catching three preliminary acts: Joy Oladokun , Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Kool & the Gang , an...

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band was originally scheduled to play Camden Yard s in Baltimore on September 9th, 2023. The show was postponed for a year due to Bruce's peptic ulcer disease. Friday night, he and the band made up for it. Springsteen has a big show coming up Sunday evening on the beach in Asbury Park as the headliner of the SeaHearNow Music Festival . For this sweltering Friday evening, though, he gave full attention to Baltimore. The band came on stage almost exactly at the stated show time of 7:30. Given that Bruce's first top ten single "Hungry Heart " mentioned Baltimore in the first line, it was no surprise that Bruce opened with it, followed by another River fan favorite, "Sherry Darling." The audience took the first line of "Hungry Heart," and Bruce was down to the front of the stage and in to the crowd even before beginning his own singing. The two openers also gave opportunities for members of the band to shine, in par...

Port Austin, Michigan. August 12, 2024. 2:40am I booked the motel room in early June. Port Austin , in our favorite cute little motel up by Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay . Tip of the thumb, with gorgeous sunsets, quaint little eateries, art barns, farm stands, and easy access to a dark sky preserve. I made the reservation for Sunday, August 11th, the best night for the annual Perseids Meteor Shower s. Astrophotogaphy mode -- the Auroroa moves, and I got a meteorite! Port Crescent Dark Sky Preserve. August 12, 2024. 1:01am. Then Aaron came home at the end of his semester. Then Ezra decided to come, too. And then... at midday Sunday afternoon the motel called. They had some water issues in the room and had to cancel the reservation. Should I cancel the trip? To spend more time with the children? The forecast was iffy, this was my chance if I wanted it.  Port Austin, Michigan. The Autora is out! August 11, 2024. 11:18pm A friend had texted me, "Pray to the sun gods," which meant ...

John Fogert at Pine Knob, August 4, 2024 I've written previously about my childhood rock heroes: The Beatles. Bruce. And John Fogerty. Fogerty, and CCR, was a taste a acquired largely during my first years in college, when I graduated from the Fantasy Records "More Gold" compilation I had bought as a kid to the entire original Fantasy catalogue in 3 neat double albums, creatively titled "1989/69," "1969" and "1970," and then finally daring to purchase the lamentable "Mardi Gras" and Fogerty's first two solo albums as cut-outs. Eventually I even located the pre-CCR "Golliwogs" singles on another Fantasy collection.  Still, it's been a decade since I last saw John play live. Oh, he's been around, but typically sharing the stage with performers I had no desire to see, even performing as an opening act. I wanted the full treatment, and last night I got it. Fogerty's "Celebration" tour came to Pine Kn...

10:42pm, May 10, 2024: The Northern Lights over Silver Lake near Pinckney Recreation Area I'll keep this one simple. I saw the Northern Lights! Aurora Borealis! Barely a month after witnessing a total solar eclipse in Ohio , I got to witness something that is rarely seen in Southern Michigan. Twice! Night 1: May 10, 2024 For the eclipse, of course we all knew years in advance that it was coming. For this... it was on the local weather report Thursday night. We were panning to get Ezra in Ann Arbor for dinner. At 2:55pm I texted, "Northern Lights might be visible tonight. Want to try?" Just like that. 10:50pm, May 10, 2024: The Northern Lights over Silver Lake near Pinckney Recreation Area Finding a dark spot was going to be the challenge. We drove to Chelsea, but the place we tried was too bright. So onwards to Pinckney Recreation Area . At 10:23pm, I received a text from my friend Kim: "It's out. Just get out of car." I was on a dirt road in the middle of n...

Springsteen in Columbus, April 21, 2024 There are times when words and pictures really can't do justice to the thing just witnessed. For example, a total eclipse of the sun . Or when Bruce Springsteen gets really good.  And now, within an easy drive to Ohio, I've been blessed to experience both of these in a span of less than two weeks. Bruce was originally scheduled to play Columbus on March 9, 2023, but it was postponed to September 21st due to an undisclosed illness. All three of the March shows rescheduled to September were then rescheduled again when Bruce's peptic ulcer disease forced postponement of all 2023 shows after September 3rd. The Columbus show last night was the final make-up date. Solo all night. Columbus, April 21, 2024 Nothing against last year's shows: I went to three of them consecutively, and I had a great time. But the setlists were static, the ticket prices were high, and despite the high  performance  quality, the shows seemed somehow less than ...

The Diamond at the End of Totality I wore my shirt from Cedars of Lebanon in 2017 . That was my way of communicating I'd seen a rotal eclipse brfore. That invites the inevitable question, "how did it compare?" Look at the sun! (with eclipse glasses) For one thing, this time I knew it was coming. This time, it was reachable with a relatively short drive from home. This time, Aaron wanted to see it, and was willing to fly in from Baltimore to see it with us. This time, Ezra decided he wanted to see it too, wherever we were going with Aaron. This time, Lori's mother decided she, too, wanted to witness it, and would come with us wherever we went. This time, I somehow managed to convince several friends that pinholes and eclipse glasses are nice and it's pretty awesome to see a 99% eclipse, but really, there's just no substitute for totality. Beginning of partial, just before 2pm. But also, this time would be in early April. The eclipse path would come well within ...

The pig butchering operation on LXEH shown by the share price and volume on March 21st, 2024 The scam is called "pig butchering," and for a little while this past winter, I was set up to be a pig. I'll cut to the end first, and then explain: In the end, I was not butchered, not this time, anyway. But I saw it happen to others in real time. How My Experience Began Around January 16th, I saw an ad on Facebook. In it was a picture of Bill Ackman and his wife, and a caption describing some investment club that Ackman was heading up. Ackman is not only a fabulously wealthy hedge fund manager, he's also very active on X, where his very public efforts helped bring down the presidents of both the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University last fall. While I wasn't terribly fond of his tactics in those efforts, I respected his results with Pershing Capital well enough and figured this might  just be the sort of thing he'd do. Anyway, I figured I had nothing to ...