Spectrum memories

Well, I've heard from a few of you, and here is what you sent back.

From Mike Shaw (both attended Allentown College at the same time. He graduated the following year):

Went back to the Spectrum for the last time a couple of weeks ago to see my very first Bruce Springsteen concert. It was sort of a surreal experience, stepping foot in that building. All the banners were gone from the rafters - except for the Bruce Springsteen Sell-Out banner and, inexplicably, the Canadian flag.

For me, the Spectrum will always be the place that I saw my first hockey game, sat in a luxury box, saw my first concert, and actually got to play a game. In grade school, my basketball team (the team was bad, I was worse) got crushed by St. Joe's Prep (a perennial basketball great) on the floor of the Spectrum prior to a Sixers game. I got to meet Scottie Brooks (a little white dude who played for them), Mike Gminski (a big white dude, who was a bit of an asshole), but not Charles Barkley - who stayed in the locker room until we left the floor, to my extreme disappointment.

I was with you at that Phantoms game and a few others; and it was a truly great time and a memorable experience. I'll never forget the little kid behind us with the foul mouth! I couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. (Jeff Bachman note: This kid had the worst mouth I've ever heard on a six year old. 12 years later and no one has still beat it.)

Whether it was hockey or basketball or a concert or even a circus, the Spectrum holds some great memories - and I will definitely miss it a great deal.

From Rob Roche: (high school classmate. Also, the person who introduced me to Pearl Jam)

To whom it may concern.

My friend asked for memories of the Spectrum to post on his blog. I thought I would share mine with him and the Ten Club. (Jeff note: this is the Pearl Jam fan club.) Please see below.

I had attended many events at the Spectrum, including Sixers’ games, Harlem Globetrotters’ games and numerous concerts. However one event holds a special place in my memory for various reasons. On April 28th, 2003, my brother Patrick and I attended Pearl Jam’s first concert at the Spectrum.

Although they had played larger venues like the Tweeter Center and intimate, Philly institutions such as JC Dobbs, Eddie Vedder expressed to the audience the band’s almost reverent feelings towards the hallowed Spectrum. Noting that the band is made up of huge basketball fans, Eddie commented a few times how special it was to be playing in the same arena where Dr. J. performed his magic on the Spectrum floor.

We enjoyed a typical Pearl Jam concert with rarities, B-sides, famed covers and hits both past and present. During that time period, Pearl Jam began to release bootlegs of all of their concerts to deter outsiders from making money at Pearl Jam’s expense, as well as providing the best possible quality to their fans. I spent most of the following day downloading the bootleg and most of that night listening to their greatness with the music in my ears and the visuals in my mind’s eye.

As a dedicated Ten Club member, I attended many more Pearl Jam concerts but never again with my brother. We lost him to kidney cancer in the spring of 2008 (Jeff note: Patrick passed April 13 at age 27.) It is a loss that I will never fully recover from but as Eddie has said, I am still Alive. I take solace now in the fact that I can relive the concert simply by turning on my iPod. I crank up the sound, close my eyes and know in my heart that my brother’s voice is soaring amongst that Philadelphia crowd. At the time, it was just another concert, but now it is a tangible tribute to a bond that two brothers shared.

Thanks to Pearl Jam, I will always have evidence of the time we shared and know that his voice will live on in more than just my own memories.

Rob Harman (friend and fellow go-kart/open wheel racing enthusiast):

My memorable Spectrum experience was my first time there, which also happened to be my first heavy metal concert. Megadeath (Peace Sells, but Who's Buying?) opened for Metallica (Master of Puppets). I will never be the same after that.

I'm gonna see my friend before it goes away

Halloween Night marks the end of an era in Philadelphia when the Spectrum turns out the lights one last time after the fourth and final show by Pearl Jam. It marks the end of a building that opened in 1967 and has played host to many a memorable event, be it sports or a concert.

I grew up about 90 minutes from the arena, but I attended a few events there as a teenager, the first of which was a Sixers game with my dad in the mid 1980's. The team was in a downward arc after its 1983 championship run, Dr. J was in the last season of his Hall of Fame career and doing the retirement tour thing. It wasn't a very memorable game (I don't remember who they played to be honest, all I remember is they won). I went to a few more games there before I went away to college, and before the arena became semi-obsolete as a result of the opening of the CoreStates Center (the original name of the Wachovia Center) acrosss the street.

With the opening of the new arena, the Spectrum only became used for Phantoms games and concerts for acts that either weren't big enough for the new arena or were going on when there was a scheduling conflict. I attended a few of those such shows and more of my share of Phantoms games.

I remember Phantoms game in particular against the cross state rival Hershey Bears that I went to in 1997 with some friends from college, and we saw one hell of a brawl at the end. Two players ahad to be put into their teams respective penalty box to be kept from hitting one another, andGene Hart, then the PA announcer for the Phantoms, had to finish reading the penalties given to the 11 players involved before getting to the end of game announcements. Neal Little, Phantoms goalie at the time, was the only player not penalized, as leaving his own goal would have got him a penalty and possibly, under the AHL rules at the time, a suspension.

My point is that the Spectrum may be about to die, but it holds a lot of memories for me, and for everyone else in the Philadelphia area. We all have the same sort of story I do, going to a (insert team here) game with their (insert significant life person here). Or it could be a Globetrotter game, Ice Capades or the Circus, but my point is this: the arena is part of us. For whatever reason, it holds a special place for us, just like the Vet does.

There are those that may say it is a dump, a hole, etc., etc. While that may be true, it's ours.

I'll enjoy being there Saturday night, not only because I get to see my favorite band for the fourth time. I also get to say goodbye to an old friend. Will I cry during the show? Don't know.
If anything, I'll end up shedding a few tears, because it's hard to say goodbye, especially to an old friend.

But, that's just me.

It's been a long time....

since I wrote anything, but you are all the benefactors of the evening's lack of sleep. That said, if the post gets a little punchyy, rambling, or something resembling any of those, you all have my apologies.

Since I have gotten to the movies a few times, I do have some stuff to share. That said, here goes.

A few weeks ago now, I was attend a free screening of a movie entitled Black Dynamite, thanks in part to the Tweeting of my friend Mike. We got into a free showing of the film in Philadelphia sponored in part by a couple of the local radio stations. That said, it should also be mentioned that Mike and I were VERY much in the minority in the theater, if you catch what I mean.

I had actually heard about this movie at the beginning of the year, due to it's wild reception at the Sundance Film Festival. Ok, that and a post about it on a movie website I read entitled "Possibly the Greatest Movie Ever." Call me crazy, but a headline like that will catch your attention most times, and this was no exception.

Was it the greatest movie ever? Yes, it was the best WORST movie I have ever seen. Let me explain. Co-written by its star Michael Jai White and director Scott Sanders, it is a parody of 70's Blaxploation films the two grew up watching. I never thought I would be able to say this about a film, but it goes from good to bad, and circles back around near the end of the film again. This movie succeeds where 2007's Grindhouse fails in that it's a movie that knows it isn't great, but, in the same breath, still doesn't take itself too seriously.

Should you see it? In the words of Black Dynamite "You got that right, you got that right."

A few days later, I saw Zombieland with a friend of mine and his sister. A comedy in the vein of Shaun of the Dead, it follows the adventures of four survivors of a zombie plague as they head for California. The movie's soundtrack, if nothing else, comes with well chosen music. The movie itself is smart inventive, and just the right length at just under 90 minutes. Throw in a well-placed, unexpected and downright hilarious celebrity cameo (sorry, that's really all I can tell you without giving too much away), and you have a funny movie that is well worth your time.

Well, that came out pretty well, and not the least bit punchy.

Maybe now I can get some sleep.