Derby Review
Aug. 8th, 2010 09:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
morrigirlGreg and I went to the roller derby last night. Greg enjoyed it, but I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. In fact, I found the whole thing down right boring.
The game is split into two thirty minute halves, and each half contains an unspecified numbers of Jams. A Jam is a two minute play during which each team's Jammer (point scorer) tries to lap as many members of the opposite team as possible. They receive one point for each member of the opposite team they pass. There's more to it than that, but that's the gist.
Between each Jam the teams rotate players and are given thirty seconds to set up for the next Jam. Changing players every two minutes, sometimes less, kept the game from building any momentum. Just as I was getting excited about what was going on, the Jam would end and thirty seconds of shuffling would commence. Lame.
I also found the scoring system really hinky. I felt it gave an unfair advantage to whichever team was in the lead and prevented the trailing team from catching up. There were times when I was certain that one team or the other had scored, but when I looked at the scoreboard, discovered they hadn't. I had no clue what was going on even with the rule sheet sitting in my lap the whole time.
Finally, I didn't really like the crowd which was made almost entirely of hipsters from Williamsburg. They were all white, tattooed, pierced, and obviously well off. They seemed almost offended they had to sit in cramped, smelly, college court bleachers to watch the game.
While I'm glad we went, and I'm glad Greg had fun, it's not something I'd ever want to do again.
The game is split into two thirty minute halves, and each half contains an unspecified numbers of Jams. A Jam is a two minute play during which each team's Jammer (point scorer) tries to lap as many members of the opposite team as possible. They receive one point for each member of the opposite team they pass. There's more to it than that, but that's the gist.
Between each Jam the teams rotate players and are given thirty seconds to set up for the next Jam. Changing players every two minutes, sometimes less, kept the game from building any momentum. Just as I was getting excited about what was going on, the Jam would end and thirty seconds of shuffling would commence. Lame.
I also found the scoring system really hinky. I felt it gave an unfair advantage to whichever team was in the lead and prevented the trailing team from catching up. There were times when I was certain that one team or the other had scored, but when I looked at the scoreboard, discovered they hadn't. I had no clue what was going on even with the rule sheet sitting in my lap the whole time.
Finally, I didn't really like the crowd which was made almost entirely of hipsters from Williamsburg. They were all white, tattooed, pierced, and obviously well off. They seemed almost offended they had to sit in cramped, smelly, college court bleachers to watch the game.
While I'm glad we went, and I'm glad Greg had fun, it's not something I'd ever want to do again.
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no subject
Date: 2010-08-22 08:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-23 11:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-23 11:48 pm (UTC)almost as much as I love the 70's!
no subject
Date: 2010-08-24 04:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-24 07:53 am (UTC)followed by Soundgarden and the Melvins, THEN Nirvana.
THEN STP. then pearl jam.
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Date: 2010-08-24 02:54 pm (UTC)I've never liked STP though. Scott Weiland was way better with Velvet Revolver.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-25 10:14 am (UTC)I've never heard them!
" I dug Nirvana because their music had a certain pop sensibility"
the problem with nirvana is that he had that pop sensibility, but he didn't USE it enough because he didn't want to be "commercial". they'd have been better if he HAD made it more pop-y, but still somewhat heavy. Like a cross between Black Sabbath and the Beetles.
"Plus, I've always had an aversion to hype so I generally hate whatever music is in the mainstream at any given moment."
YES. at the time I wanted more hard rock (Guns n Roses, Aerosmith) and METAL (Metallica), which I had discovered fairly recently.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-25 03:49 pm (UTC)I'm not surprised. Velvet Revolver was/is a hard rock band that formed in 2004, released two albums, and have been on "hiatus" since 2008 when their lead singer, Scott Weiland, jumped ship and returned to STP.
Velvet Revolver was/is the pheonix that rose from the ashes of Guns N Roses. At present, the group consists of Slash, Duff McKagen, Matt Sorum, and Dave Kushner. They are in the process of looking for a new lead vocalist.
he didn't USE it enough
I'm not sure they really could have used it any more than they did. I always liked the balance they managed to strike between pop and rock. What "more" would you have liked to see?
at the time I wanted more hard rock (Guns n Roses, Aerosmith) and METAL (Metallica), which I had discovered fairly recently.
I was a tween during the rise of grunge, so I was only just starting to build a personal musical aesthetic. At the time I was still very into mainstream pop - think Madonna, Paula Abdul, and Wilson Phillips. Nirvana was one of the first bands I liked that deviated from that particular norm. But I never stopped liking good pop music, and since grunge was the death knell to shiny happy pop of all stripes, I remember wishing for more pop during the grunge years. Then 1995 rolled around, and Sarah Mclachlan and Alanis Morissette hit, and the rise of the female singer-songwriter began. That helped satisfy my craving.
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Date: 2010-08-26 10:12 am (UTC)oh, I know who they ARE, I just never heard their music.
"They are in the process of looking for a new lead vocalist."
they should get the guy who was in Skid Row!
"What "more" would you have liked to see?"
I would've like the heavy songs to be MORE poppy. if that makes any sense.
"think Madonna, Paula Abdul, and Wilson Phillips."
I like Madonnas singles! she doesn't have a GREAT voice, but she's made a lot of good songs!
I HATE wilson phillips as much as humanly possible!
"Sarah Mclachlan"
i LOVE some of her stuff!
"the rise of the female singer-songwriter began."
do you like Tori?
no subject
Date: 2010-08-27 03:12 am (UTC)Oh! Well then we must remedy that right away. Here, this was their first hit single:
they should get the guy who was in Skid Row!
Sebastian Bach! That would be hilarious. He's such a clown :-)
I was VERY into Sarah Mclachlan when I was in high school. Her music, and that of other female vocalists who came to prominence in the 90's, gave people (specifically girls) who couldn't really relate to the aggression of grunge or hip hop something softer but no less introspective to latch onto. I was really disappointed in her last album though, and have since drifted away from her. And I'm not 14 anymore so the stuff of hers that spoke to me back then doesn't really speak to me anymore. She does, however, hold the honor of being the first musician I ever saw in concert :-)
Which stuff of hers have your heard?
do you like Tori?
Yes, I love Tori, although my relationship to her music is the exact opposite of my relationship to Sarah's. I HATED Tori Amos when I was in high school. I thought her voice was annoying and her song lyrics opaque. I did not understand why anyone in their right mind would buy one of her albums. Then, freshman year of college I dated this girl who was a total Tori disciple. Because of her I started listening to Tori, and since I was older and slightly more worldly her songs suddenly made sense. Now I own all of her albums, even the crappy ones.
Do YOU like Tori?
no subject
Date: 2010-08-27 08:42 am (UTC)Yes!
"He's such a clown :-)"
lol yes! but his voice is great! the 1st 2 Skid Row albums are classics!
"She does, however, hold the honor of being the first musician I ever saw in concert :-)"
cool!
AND she's pretty!
"I dated this girl who was a total Tori disciple."
girls dating girls is HOT.
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Date: 2010-08-24 02:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-24 08:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-24 02:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-25 09:25 am (UTC)isn't that ALL brits?
"Rainbow in the Dark "
LOVE that song.