Congratulations to the New England Patriots for an undefeated season and Super Bowl win.  You truly deserve it.

My only regret is that the Patriots didn't win the Super Bowl against the absolute best the NFC had to offer.

I've railed for years against the concept of Wild Card teams.  How does a team that finished second place end up with a chance at the biggest game to determine who the absolute best is?  If a Super Bowl or a World Series is supposed to help determine who the best team is at the end of a grueling season, how does a second place team figure into that equation?

It's about money.  The NFL and MLB figure that if more teams compete in some sort of round robin tournament at the end of the season, then more games will be played and more money made.  What a stupid idea.  This goes against the entire reason a championship game in any sport was created.

Every year, I want to know who is the best in the NFL and MLB.  These are the only sports I follow.  When the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series, it really didn't matter or count.  They were not the team that finished first in their division after playing over 160 games.  When they won the World Series the second time, it counted and I give them kudos even though I'm a Yankees fan.  True to my word, I didn't follow the Yankees after the regular season was over because I would have been thoroughly disappointed had they won as a Wild Card team.

As a player/coach/owner, I would be against the entire idea of being a Wild Card.  To protest, I would forfeit.  I would refuse to take part in anything after the regular season that isn't going to determine who the absolute best team is.  I don't care how much extra money is to be made, it isn't worth having a post season if you can't determine who the absolute best is.

It used to be that the regular season meant more than getting allowed into a tournament process.  I hope people get their heads out of their backsides and get back to the purity of what a championship game is supposed to mean.

I've documented previously about how I met Mario Mind at Rocklahoma.  He had told me about his band MindScheme and I tried to find a good way to get them to Des Moines.  Fortunately, I was able to book them for CharityFest 2007 as one of our three headlining national acts, but I wanted to get them another show or two that weekend.  Their music is very good and I was hoping to provide an opportunity to help them make some fans in this area.  Of course, I had never heard them live and hadn't seen much online about them performing live, so I had a lot of curiosity going into this weekend.

 

MindScheme arrived the Thursday before CharityFest.  I let them crash at my small house to save them some cash since they were doing the benefit for only their expenses.  It was great meeting the guys when they got in, but it was also late and time to hit the hay.

 

I went over to the house on my lunch break the next day and took them some Subway.  Not long after, they went to get a hotel for Friday night and to get ready for the show.

 

I booked them a gig at The Venue in Boone, IA, for Friday night.  The Venue has a great stage setup for this kind of show.  I booked Iowa favorites Gimikk to open the show.  Gimikk was kind enough to provide sound and lights for both bands.

 

Gimikk went on and shocked me!  I've heard these guys sound quite good before, but their command of the stage really came to the front this particular night.  Their new singer James needs to put down the mic stand before he beans someone, but the guy has pipes and it's hard to take your eyes off the guy as he puts on a show.  Jimmi and Cy are the best dual guitar set I've seen in any regional type of band, whether in Missouri or Iowa.  Jimmi takes most of the leads and this short guy rips like a 10 foot monster!  Cy locks into the rhythm groove with bass player Billy and takes on acoustic parts, too.  Cy gets to drive some of the songs with the main guitar hook so that has to be fun.  Billy is a freakin' madman on bass and has all the parts and poses down.  He is locked in solid with Kip, Gimikk's drummer, as they hold down the beat for the mostly cover set they do.  Kip is obviously a frontman behind the kit as he is constantly visible during and between songs standing on his drum stool.  I haven't seen a band this tight since I played in Rat Race or saw Sing Sing (previously Rampage) live in Kansas City.  MindScheme was impressed by Gimikk's sound, too.  If you ever see Gimikk, request The Darkness' I Believe In A Thing Called Love.  James and the band will blow your mind!

 

MindScheme had some technical difficulties getting set up.  They use a computer component to add some background to their set.  Thankfully, Doug, Gimikk's sound technician, took care of them after figuring things out.  I was anxious to see how this enhanced the MindScheme show they were about to put on.

 

MindScheme is a tight melodic rock band that puts an emphasis on melody and vocals with songs that hook you in.  It's obvious they have rehearsed religiously because you have to in order to have a sound this tight.  Ron Baker holds down the backbeat keeping the groove steady.  He is a great finesse player with perfect timing.  Mario and Just Johnny trade leads and rhythms wonderfully.  They each have a different sound and feel to their playing that compliments each other well.  Mario even gets to take a turn at lead vocals with some Alice Cooper, too!  These guys are all about having a good time and getting their songs across live.  They work the stage and interact with the audience very well.  It's great when Mario takes the mic to talk to the audience as he's got a great sense of humor.  Michael Scheme takes the stage front and center as he does most of the lead vocals and plays bass.  This is another short guy who has the talent of 10 men.  He never gets stuck behind the mic as he puts on a show while playing.  The voice is smooth and evokes the lyrics with a lot of soul and emotion.  The voices behind him blend well as he takes the lead while they harmonize behind him.  All of these guys interact with each other well on stage and bring a more established presence to the stage in their performance.

 

MindScheme worked the audience to their feet as the set went on.  It came to full blown fruition with War Machine, my personal MindScheme favorite.  This is also the song that we got to play on Lazer 103.3 the previous Sunday night when advertising CharityFest.

 

MindScheme is fantastic live!  They have fun, they play great, and the songs are fantastic.  I hope they make their way to Des Moines and other parts of Iowa plenty in 2008!  Of course, it would be great to see them hook up with a major tour!