Ultimate Chickens

It’s been a busy couple of weekends of practices, clinics, and games with our team for the Vancouver Ultimate League‘s fall schedule. The team name is a tip of the hat to our favourite sushi restaurant, The Eatery, we’ve dubbed our team “I can’t believe it’s not chicken” – a reference to Randy’s delicious tuna tempura creation.

It’s kind of good to be out getting exercise – I’m kind of out of shape, but not as bad as I would have thought. The game involves a lot of running and, unlike last year during C-Fest 2002, my knees and ankles are holding up well. I’m still trying to get the hang of the “throwing/running/catching” thing that some of the more advanced teams make look so easy, but I guess it’ll just come in time.

I’m actually enjoying the game quite a bit, which is odd. There aren’t many sports that I actually enjoy. As a kid I played soccer (though I think that only lasted for a season), and a teenager I rode my bicycle a fair bit and trained in Judo. But I’ve never really seriously done a team sport with a lot of running. It’s kind of neat. The whole “spirit of the game” aspect of Ultimate is quite appealing, especially when I suck so badly. Oh well, it’ll just take time and practice.

R & R Weekend

There’s bad ways to start a long weekend, and then there’s good ways. Two concerts in two days, especially when the headliners are REM and Radiohead, is definitely one of the better ways to kick things off. Especially when they’re both outside, in general seating, under clear skies at Thunderbird Stadium.

We arrived at the REM concert early enough to catch the end of the Dandy Warhols‘ set, which, given the “wall of sound” thing they had going was probably worth missing. Wilco made up for it, with some nice tunes, well executed. Nice stuff to listen to while kicking back in the sun.

Finally, REM came on stage and took the stadium by storm. Stipe’s strong vocal performance, matched by his equally strong stage presence, reminded me why I loved this band, even if I hadn’t listened to them for a while. The band has apparently grown quite at home in Vancouver, spending 7 months out of the last 10 writing and recording in Yaletown. They had numerous shoutouts to members of the local community, including the Opus Hotel, the Wedgewood Hotel, and numerous others. Also featured: numerous new songs.

For the concert’s finale, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke joined REM on stage to accompany them for a supercharged rendition of “It’s the End of the World as We Know It”. Yorke bounced around the stage like he was riding a pogo stick, an energy level which boded well for the Radiohead concert the next night.

The next night, Radiohead did not disappoint. The band made up for its less than energetic performance at the same time last year, kicking things up a notch from the start. Yorke seemed to have fun with the crowd, peering at them through the TV screens mounted on either side of the stage, making eyes at them throughout “You and Whose Army?” Another surreal moment: Canadian geese flying in formation over the stage, something everyone in the crowd appreciated, though I’m not sure the band understood why the crowd was cheering in the middle of a song for apparently no reason.

Final verdict: good concerts, lots of fun. And there’s still two more days!