Kevin Baker's book is here!

Kevin Baker's book is here!
"... an exemplary sports book..." Kirkus Reviews

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Yankees? Pttuuii. Last night, I saw Frank Turner in Cooperstown

"Well it's been a few hours drinking,
"So I'm gonna say what everyone's thinking,
"If we're stuck on this ship and it's sinking,
"Then we might as well have a parade..."

I cannot tell a lie. I missed last night's Yankee debacle, choosing instead to drive the Thomas Dewey Wormhole to a meadow outside Cooperstown to see one of my all-time rock heroes, Frank Turner, play in front of a huge crowd behind the Ommegang Brewery.

If you have never heard of Frank Turner, that's OK. He is a Brit, still catching on in the colonies, doing it one fan at a time. In a previous incarnation, he fronted an angry, wild, bombastic, hard-edged punk band called Million Dead. Then he jumped ship. He switched acoustic folk music with angry, wild, bombastic, hard-edged lyrics - sort of folk-punk, a mix of Neil Young and Henry Rollins. He played at the 2012 London Olympics, but Bob Costas didn't get the memo. Last year, he did Wembley, and it was a sell-out. For my money - and I am choosing my words carefully here - Frank Turner is Second Coming of Bruce. In my life, I have never said that about anybody. (Disclaimer: I did like Tommy Tutone for a while, but I never compared him to Bruce.)

Don't know Frank Turner? Go here. Go here. Go here. And if you ever get a chance to see this guy, don't miss out. He will save your soul. Last night, he saved me from the Yankees.



1 comment:

JM said...

I will check Turner out. Never heard of him or his previous band, and I usually at least see a mention of someone who can sell out Wembley, somewhere. Living under a middle aged rock...

The game would have broken your heart. You made the clearly correct decision.

Kelly Johnson, green , less than average first baseman, shouldn't have even been at the position. Naturally, Girardi told reporters after the game that he will play Kelly at first again.