From Idaho to China, 2009 was a fun year for traveling and writing

How can a year in which you got an action figure of yourself be anything but great?

Recently the Internet has featured an abundance of laments about the disappointment that was 2009. I disagree; 2009, you were a good one.

From Kamiah, Idaho (population 1,160) to Guangzhou, China (population 10,045,800), I experienced and wrote about some amazing places this year–and had a blast doing it.

Some highlights:

• In January I drove from my new home in Louisville to Las Vegas with my brother and then flew to Washington, DC for Barack Obama’s inauguration.
• For Valentine’s Day, I reviewed 10 engaging spots to pop the question for Budget Travel.
• Traveling to celebrate my grandmother’s 90th birthday with her, I drove through Idaho, one of the most beautiful areas in the United States.
• I discovered one of my new favorite American cities–Nashville, which I visited twice.
• I covered the running–and parties–of Kentucky Derby 135 (and got this hilarious voice message from a Paris Hilton flack in the process).
• I experienced my first music festival–Bonnaroo.
• Trips to Boston; Morgantown, WV; Charlotte, NC; and Washington, DC allowed me to spend time with family and friends, as well as do some exploring.
• My more than 100 articles for Louisville.com provided me with ample opportunities to investigate my new hometown.
• While in New York to officiate a friend’s wedding (yes, you read that right), I finally met in person many travel writers and editors whom I’d known only virtually before.
• I consumed delicious tacos, lattes, and cocktails in Austin, TX.
• I reviewed concerts by two of my favorite performers–Bruce Springsteen and Roger Daltrey.
• After a fantastic trip to Guangzhou and Shenzhen, China, sponsored by the Ritz-Carlton, Cathay Pacific and Dragon Air, I wrote about the ethics of press trips for BlackBook.
• And I began contributing to Air Canada’s in-flight magazine, enRoute, and blogging about lodging for UpTake.

On a personal note, I’ll be closing out 2009 or beginning 2010 with a new daughter–my wife and I are expecting our first child any day now. Look for articles in early 2010 about traveling with an infant: we’ve already made plans to bring her to Milwaukee, Chicago, and San Diego.

Best wishes for a great 2010!

Springsteen fans take offense at my Bonnaroo concert review for focusing more on boobies than Brucie

While I’m on the subject of people getting angry about my articles, my review of Bruce Springsteen’s performance at Bonnaroo (scroll down to June 13) angered some fans:

Backstreets Ticket Exchange: Ridiculous Bonaroo review on the Setlists Page (free membership required)

In case you don’t want to sign up, here’s the initial post:

What was that?

Referring to the crowd as “young, stoned, and dirty.” The talk of the Phish fan who lit up a bowl at the end. I’m sure there was an element that looked different than your average Bruce show but to throw out all the stereotypes was pretty sad. You can throw out some different stereotypes for the typical Bruce show for every review but why insult the crowd in your review? What does that have do with the show itself? I didn’t find it funny or entertaining at all. Next time, just have your reviewers stick to the music if you can.

The rest of the 53-post thread is a mix of positive and negative reviews of my review (apparently the word “boobies” draws a lot of ire–who knew?).

The author, of course, stands by his piece: By Springsteen’s lofty standards the show was good, not great (although it was still the best performance I saw at Bonnaroo). Nothing about the music stood out.

Backstreets readers are diehard Springsteen fans. What would make the show special for them was the environment and the audience, not the set list or performance.

The new Backstreets, with my article in it, is out now

The spring/summer 2006 issue of Backstreets, with my aforementioned article on military themes in Bruce Springsteen’s show on Veterans Day in Norfolk, VA, was released this week. Titled “A long, long way from home: Trust, faith, and fear on Veterans Day in Norfolk,” the article is on page 78.

It’s interesting being on the writing side of a publication—as of late I’ve mostly been editing. If the editors made any changes to my article, I didn’t notice them. And I’m happy with the title (magazine editors, not the writer, pick the title).

My only concern with the layout is that the colored background, which looks great, might make photocopied versions hard to read. And I’ll need copies to send as clips with future queries to magazines.

If you’re interested in picking up the issue, your best bet is ordering it from Backstreets’ website. Some Tower Records, Borders, and Barnes & Nobles carry it as well.

Backstreets to publish another article I wrote

I’ll have another article in Backstreets. This one is about Pete Seeger songs that Bruce Springsteen did not include on We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, but that have themes, writing styles, or metaphors similar to Springsteen’s work.

A tease:

A musician tells a group of children “Our government is always right and never wrong.” Is it Bruce Springsteen reading his kids that bedtime fairy tale he mentioned in his public-service announcement during the Vote for Change tour? No. It was Pete Seeger singing “What Did You Learn in School Today?” 35 years earlier.

A musician sings about soldiers “waist deep in the big muddy/And the big fool said to push on.” Did Springsteen rework “The Big Muddy” from 1992 to reflect his “Bring ‘em home” remark from the 2006 Grammy awards? No. It’s Seeger again, this time singing “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy” about a different president getting the United States mired in a different war.

I’m not sure if this article will be in the next issue, along with the piece I wrote on the military themes in Springsteen’s Norfolk, VA, concert or the subsequent one.

Backstreets to publish an article I wrote

I’ll have an article in the upcoming edition of Backstreets, a magazine “that focuses on Bruce Springsteen and related Jersey Shore artists.” MTV has called the magazine “the standard to which all others are compared.”

The article won’t appear online (so you’ll have to buy a copy if you want to read it), but here’s a tease:

I’ve often driven from my home in Washington, DC, to my younger brother’s place in Virginia Beach. This time I stopped 10 miles short. It was Veterans Day and, whether by design or not, Bruce Springsteen was playing in Norfolk, VA, home of the world’s largest naval station. Normally my brother, the first person in my house growing up to own a Springsteen recording, would have sat next to me at the concert. Only he’s an F-14 pilot deployed in the Persian Gulf.

For me and the many other members of Navy families in the Constant Convocation Center, Springsteen’s setlist meant a lot of the show was spent thinking about the person who should have been there with us.

And yeah, I feel pretentious quoting myself.