It was the warmest day in two weeks, and people were enjoying it. Southbound from 3145 North Sheffield was a stream of hundreds of people. Whether the meteorologist was calling for rain, sleet, or worse, it wouldn’t have stopped this dedicated string of folks. Each one with at least one shared intent, to get as close to the stage as possible. The layered tiers inside quickly filled up as the crowd filed in, making split second decisions on which side of the sound booth they would go around. Within minutes, you could hardly move. Adorned with a red curtain and a circle of lights, the anticipation grew amongst the masses. 

On that stage would be Evan Honer and five of his best friends as they brought their It’s a Long Road Tour to The Vic Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. The Arizona born artist loaded up the sunshine from his southern state to a packed Vic in a vibrant format, blasting through 25 songs to his adoring fans. Honer is halfway through his 33-stop tour across North America in promotion of his latest record Everything I Wanted making his way from east to west. He gave love to new and old, playing nine songs off the latest venture and three from his debut LP West On I-10. A first-time listener would not be able to tell what tunes were new and old as fans belted every word from throughout the venue.  

Honer began his set the way he ended it, with a backflip. This might have been my first backflip on stage that I’ve seen, and for sure my second. That was a great prologue to the type of night Honer was about to give the crowd. Switching between a Martin acoustic and a cherry red Gibson ES-335, Honer took us along the journey of his catalogue whether sad and slow or animated and loud. These songs bleed honesty and experience, even in Honer’s young age. “Mr. Meyers”, the fourth track off Fighting For, tells the tale of watching a man lose himself in his own losses. Directly after in the setlist was the second song from the same record, “Brother”, discussing Honer’s difficult time understanding his own brother’s mental illness. A song that encapsulates the hands tied feeling of not being able to help someone you love.  These songs rip each chord out of your heart and try to plug it back in oh so delicately. An artist able to evoke such strong feelings from a crowd of 1,000+ is someone to not take for granted. 

He couldn’t let sadness linger in the air for too long, so Honer made the great call to bring man’s best friend on stage. Ushered on to thunderous applause was his dog, Leroy, accompanied by an all-to-brief cover of “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” by the legend Jim Croce. A quick dance with a bulldog lightened the mood as the band began a sprint to the end, hitting classics “Foolin’ Ourselves” and “Too Far Gone” from his first record. Sandwiched between those two was the first seed to Honer’s fame, his cover of Tyler Childers’ “Jersey Giant”. Honer’s maiden release from 2022 was an elusive track by Childers’ that does not have video of a performance from the author until 2025. With some synchronized choreography, a capo on the first fret, and a breakdown in the bridge, Honer the nearly impossible by making a cover sound like his own.  

Jersey Giant was not the only cover of the night, as the well-earned encore contained the 9x platinum single “Sugar We’re Going Down” by Chicago pillars Fall Out Boy. When I think of Evan Honer my mind does not immediately jump to From Under The Cork Tree but this faithful rendition shows his bands versatility and the dynamic voice he carries. His closer, “IDK Shit About Cars” left the crowd wanting even more as the house lights flared up. Clocking in at almost 2 hours, Honer’s set was well worth the price of admission and gives understanding as to why there are so many repeat customers at his gigs. 

The crowd was treated to Chicago native Michal Leah to begin the evening. Leah released her debut album Universe this past October with a deluxe edition, including three more tracks, in December. Alongside just her guitarist, she led the crowd through a showcase of her new discography, giving the audience a first listen to songs soon to be added to their playlists. She later reunited with The Vic, joining Honer for a rendition of “Waiting Ain’t Easy”. The combination of their voices felt like a fresh set of sheets as it wrapped around the whole theatre. In the audience was her father as well, who gifted the singer-songwriter flowers near the finale of her set. Leah provided a soothing, intimate, and strong performance to her hometown. You can follow Leah for updates here. 

The tour name implies the truth, there are many more nights of the It’s A Long Road Tour left for Evan Honer. Looking beyond this tour seems silly, but what lies ahead is exciting. This summer Honer will be hitting the road with the poet of his first release, Tyler Childers, on Childers’ Snipe Hunt Tour. This busy season is also sprinkled with headline dates and opening slots for Darius Rucker and The Head And The Heart at Red Rocks. As an independent artist, Honer has established himself and his record company, Cloverdale Records, as important pieces of the modern industry. You can follow Evan Honer for updates and find tickets for his upcoming shows here.  

The post Evan Honer’s Long Road Comes to Chicago appeared first on KRUI Radio.

We all regret things, even some things we didn’t do ourselves. I spoke with Canadian indie-rockers Peach Pit ahead of their set at Innings Festival on February 20th as they shared stories of favorite gigs they’ve seen, video games they’ve been enjoying, and card games that have gone wrong.

Logan Melia: Okay, rock and roll. So guys, how are we doing? I mean, first gig in a little bit, right? 

Neil Smith: Yeah, we were just talking about that today. It’s our first one in a couple months, so we’re a little nervous. 

Peter Wilton: Bit rusty 

Logan: Really, bit rusty?

Neil: Well, we rehearsed, but yeah. 

Logan: What does the rehearsal process look like? Are you guys just getting together once, multiple points? 

Neil: Oh, dude, we only can do it once. Honestly, we like playing our songs in our rehearsal room by ourselves is like torture. Yeah, I hate it so much. It gives me like the feeling of like when you’re in high school and you have to do like a project or like or homework and you don’t want to do it. 

MIkey Pascuzzi: When you do it the night before it’s due. 

Neil: Yeah, yeah, exactly. So we run the set. We run the set. 

Chris Vanderkooy: Yeah, we’ll argue for the first half about what the set should be. Yeah, then go for lunch and then run the set twice. 

Peter: But yeah, any part of those, the set always ends up being pretty similar. 

Neil: Yeah, yeah. Some songs like have to kind of be later in the set. You can’t like blow your load super early with popular ones right away. 

Logan: What’s the setlist looking like? Are we doing a lot of stuff off Magpie? 

Neil: No, we’re doing two songs off Magpie. 

Chris: Two songs off from two to three. 

Neil: Yeah, we mostly have to always do most songs off of Being So Normal, our first one, just because it’s the most popular one. 

Chris: That’s what we tell ourselves. 

Neil: No, it is true, though. 

Chris: But those songs also have the most energy, I think. A lot of the time, compared to the new ones, we love those recordings on the new albums. Yeah, the old stuff, it just goes over well live to people who have never heard of these before, too. So if we’re trying to draw new people in, that’s the good stuff to do. 

Logan: I saw you guys in May of last year in Chicago.

Neil: That was so fun. It’s a cool spot.

Logan: It’s such a beautiful venue right on the lake right there. You guys open with that little combo with Warpigs there. How’d that come to be? Because when I think about you guys, with all do respect, I don’t think about Black Sabbath. 

Neil: I think it was yours or Dougle’s or yeah, we basically for the past, for the past like 7 years, we’ve been opening our show with a bit of a cover. So we’ve done, we did a Led Zeppelin song. We did Slayer. Slayer. 

Chris: Yeah, and the Slayer was really fun because we had just kind of put out our most folky album and people were coming out to the shows and it was just like post-pandemic. And then we would just drop into Slayer and we could see the visible confusion on the crowd’s faces. And so ever since then, we were like, this is so much fun to come out like this and do something a little unexpected. So yeah, it’s something we’re kind of always striving to do and look for another cover. 

Logan: Is there anything unexpected coming today that I should prepare myself for? 

Neil: Uhhh… no.

Chris: No, we wrote a little instrumental to start off our first. 

Neil: Oh, that’s true, yeah, for sure. We’re going to open with the Arc Raiders theme song. 

Logan: That’s really sick. 

Neil: Yeah, we just walk out to it.

Logan: Are you guys Indiana Jones fans?

Peter: Oh, no. Oh, OK. Sorry. It’s confusing. There’s a new video game out, kind of like Fortnite kind of style vibe. It’s called Arc Raiders, which sounds like Raiders of the Lost Ark. 

Logan: That’s where my mind is. 

Peter: But I actually have a huge hit. 

Mikey: Yeah, I love it. 

Peter: That was my favorite movies as a kid ever. 

Chris: Actually, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. 

Peter: Oh, yeah. We should open with John Williams. 

Logan: Fortnite… You guys play any video games recently? You guys hopping on anything? 

Neil: I guess Fortnite a little bit. 

Chris: We were in Fortnite for a while. 

Neil: Mikey’s been playing, what have you been playing?

Mikey: Ghost of Tsushima and Ghost of Yotei. It’s like the samurai game. 

Neil: They’re a big God of War guys. 

Mikey: Oh yeah, the God of War. I played that a couple years ago. 

Neil: I flew down here with my PlayStation actually. Yeah, I put it in my carry-on bags. More than half of your bag. Yeah, half of it is closed and the other half of the suitcase is my PlayStation. So I can play Arc Raiders. 

Logan: Did you guys see the Simpsons season of Fortnite? 

Neil: Actually, I did. That was pretty awesome. 

Peter: We hoped on together. 

Neil: Did you guys get the Homer? 

Peter: Yeah, you kind of had to, right? 

Chris: No, I never figured out how to do the scans. 

Neil: You just put your credit card in and then you get it. 

Chris: One time when we were really into Fortnite, Neil like bought me a skin on Fortnite for my birthday, but I just logged on. I didn’t realize someone had sent me anything. I was just like, ‘they just gave me a free skin I’m the Mandalorian now’ And I like texted him being excited and he was like, that was neat. 

Logan: But you know, it’s a little gestures like that. 

Chris: Oh yeah, totally. 

Neil: It’s a great gift actually, a skin. 

Chris: A Fortnite skin? 

Neil: You wouldn’t buy it for yourself. 

Chris: No, yeah, exactly. 

Logan: Neil, I saw in an interview, you said that you are kind of a jokester guy at all. You write the quote I had written down, “I come up with the jokes for the show”. 

Neil: Oh, yeah, for that onstage show. Offstage show tho…

Chris: Mikey comes up with them. 

Logan: Now, I know you guys are Canadian. Norm Macdonald. Do you have any favorite Norm moments, any jokes? 

Chris: We can’t say them on air. 

Neil: Norm is like, he’s just like my favorite person maybe ever. Like I’ve seen, there’s like no Norm MacDonald clip on the internet that I haven’t seen. I mean, just like, I don’t know. Everything is good. Like his interview shows are good. His jokes are amazing. I love the, I want to quote, I’m trying to think. 

Mikey: The Larry King bit where he’s like ‘I’m a deeply closet homosexual’. 

Neil: So what you’re saying is your gay? 

Chris: Do you know what a deeply closeted man is? A man who won’t admit he is gay. Yeah, I’m deeply closeted. 

Neil: I mean, he’s just, I mean, Norm, dude. I wish I could have seen him live. He’s the best. He’s the best of all time, for sure. 

Logan: Are there any acts either comedic or bands that you are lucky you saw live? Like, did you see like Tom Petty a year before he passed? 

Chris: Yeah, I was at Red Rocks visiting my uncle and I went and checked out the venue and I was like, oh, this is beautiful. Well, I wonder if anyone’s playing tonight. Tom Petty was playing with the Heartbreakers and it’s like, oh, sweet. Oh, there’s still tickets left. Uh, 80 bucks. I’ll see him another time. He died like six months later. 

Neil: This was also for context, you were like 20. Yeah. And so 80 bucks was like, I can’t afford that. 

Logan: I’m 20 right now. 

Neil: I don’t have a job. Yeah.

Chris: There was 80 bucks in 2014. 

Logan: Canadian or USD? 

Neil: USD so even worse.

Chris: Yeah, it was rough. But yeah, I mean, Neil got to see Paul McCartney in November. Oh, yeah, it was a bucket list one. 

Logan: I was like, yeah, I should have said hi. 

Neil: Were you there? Yeah. Oh, really? Yeah. Last day of the tour. 

Logan: No, it was the day before. 

Neil: I mean, whatever. Yeah, we flew in with our wives and went and saw him. We’ve been like, yeah, we were like, we have to see him? 

Chris: Yeah, he was great. 

Neil: Yeah. He was so good, right? 

Logan: Oh, my God. He’s how is he not good? He’s so old. And for him to, like, dance a little bit. 

Chris: Every time he walked up to the piano, I was like, he’s going to slip and fall. 

Neil: He’s didn’t take a sip of water. He didn’t take a drink. He played for three hours. 

Logan: It’s like no shade to Bob Dylan. Great artists, but I’m not sure if you guys have seen those live videos. He just kind of sits there behind a piano.

Neil: Yeah, those guys are weird because I don’t get it because they’re so loaded, they don’t have to do it with the money, but they still go on tour. And to be honest, if we have enough money to not go on tour, we’re 80, I’m not going to be going on tour with you guys. 

Chris: You’re going to miss us more than you think. 

Neil: No. 

Logan: Just with United Center, Springsteen just announcing new tour. Are you guys Springsteen fans at all? 

Neil: Yeah, sort of. I saw him a couple years ago. 

Chris: I love his album Nebraska more than anything else. 

Neil: I went and saw him. You’re a big fan. Yeah. Okay. I don’t want to shit on Springsteen though. I got free tickets to go see Springsteen and it was pretty good. It was like 3 hours long. He plays everything. But it’s just like the Springsteen arc of the show is like… They go to 11 and then they just like stay at 11 the whole entire time. Like every song is 1, 2, 3, 4, and then you’re like, oh my god. I’m not a huge Springsteen fan. It was, it was cool. I did learn some deep cuts that I listen to now. 

Logan: Hell yeah. What is on the playlist these days for you guys? Anything fun? Anything unexpected? 

Neil: Geese, dude. Nobody listens to that, man. Actually though, there’s like two Geese songs. They’re like my favorite song ever right now. 

Chris: Yeah, Jessica Pratt. I’ve been listening to a lot of her. She’s great, she kind of sounds like she should be playing for a great haul in Beowulf times. You know what I mean? She just sounds like an ancient singer-songwriter. 

Neil: What are you guys listening to? I haven’t been listening to that much music, to be honest. 

Mikey: I just throw on playlists and whatever’s on there. 

Neil: I guess I got some records recently. What did I buy? I bought so many albums at Toomes Records Store. Pat Kelly. He’s a reggae singer from Jamaica. That’s it. 

Chris: It was cool. There’s this band, The Districts, that we really love. 

Logan: Philadelphia, right? 

Chris: Philadelphia. So their lead singer started his own solo project called Super Infinity. And he kind of just dumped. A ton of songs out without making a big deal out of the release, and I think for that reason, I didn’t hear about it for a while, but now I’ve gone back and listened to this record it’s like 20 songs, some of my favorite songwriting ever, their production is amazing, his voice is incredible, so really good, really recommend, especially if you like The Districts. 

Logan: Yeah, it’s more research. Your album, I think it was From Two to Three, was originally named Fuckboy Blues. Can I get a confirm or deny on this?

Peter: That was You and Your Friend. You and Your Friend, which we wanted to call the album Fuckboy Blues. 

Neil: And then we have a song called Feeling Low in brackets, Fuckboy Blues. Okay, so basically what happened was it was our first album after being so normal. We wrote a song called Fuckboy Blues. We got on Columbia. And they basically just recommended that we don’t have a song with the word “fuck” in it because they wanted it to be the first single. They were like, yeah, this is going to be on the radio. And then it just, I don’t know. The song didn’t really go anywhere.

Chris: Yeah, it could have been huge. 

Chris: But yeah, yeah, we were going to call it “Fuckboy Blues” because Neil has “fuckboy” tattooed on his ass. 

Neil: Not by choice. Yeah, it’s true. I went to Asia, this was back when I was like 20, I went backpacking in Southeast Asia. Me and my friend were playing this card game called cribbage the whole time that we were away. And in crib, if you lose really bad by a certain amount of points, you get skunked. So we were playing like a game of skate with crib, where like every time you got skunked, you’d like write a letter. Anyway, long story short, I lost the bet. And the bet was that you had to get a tattoo on your ass that said skunk, which is kind of stupid, but whatever, we were young. And I came home and we were at band practice, and this was way back in the day. This is even before Mikey was in our band, we had a different guy named Tom. The guys were like, you’re getting your fucking tattoo tonight. Peter, he was doing a little stick and pokes at the time, he’s like, ‘we’re going to do the tattoo tonight. We’ll go to that party. You’re going to do it tonight’. And I was like, oh, shit okay, whatever. So then we go to the party and like, I lay down on the floor I yanked out my pants Peter gets all the needle ready and we have a bunch of friends there my sisters there and he’s like okay Neil like whatever you do like just like don’t, I don’t want you to look at it until it’s done and I didn’t I swear to God I didn’t even bat an eyelash at that because Peter’s like a really really you know Peter he’s a really really nice guy he’s not like a piece of shit.

Logan: Do you agree?

Neil: I would say you’re not a piece of shit.

Peter: I don’t think so.

Neil: So he’s doing the tattoo. I’m like, taking a little while or whatever, and at one point I was even like, damn this is taking a while. And then right, he’s like, I’m just about done. And right when he finished, everybody in the room burst out laughing. And I was like, ‘NOOOO’. And I ran into the bathroom and they, yeah, he touched me. 

Chris: He was, Neil was like livid. 

Neil: I was so angry. 

Chis: It was not good actually. 

Peter: No one ever like, here’s the thing. I wasn’t initially like, this isn’t a great idea. Everyone else was like, it’ll be funny. I think it was my idea. His sister was like, he’ll think it’s funny. And I was like, I didn’t know him that well at the time. So he did it and then Neil was so mad and I started crying.

Chris: And I, in the moment was like, you know what, we shouldn’t have done this, it was very fucked up but this will be funny later. 

Neil: Yeah, it aged well

Logan: How many years ago was this?

Neil: 11 years ago. A long time ago

Chris: Yeah, we were very young ago. 

Neil: So anyway, I’m going to cover it up eventually. I still have ‘fuckboy’. I go to the local community center to go use the sauna a lot. And whenever I’m getting changed, I’m facing the lockers of people. They don’t see your junk, and I can just see someone looking at my ass. 

Chris: Yeah, totally. That was a really evil thing to do, but I think made us stronger. 

The greatest joy in life is learning isn’t it? We are all students of life. I think I learned a lot during these 13 minutes. For example, we learned that Neil Smith, lead singer of 2021 JUNO nominee for Breakthrough Group of the Year Peach Pit, has ‘fuckboy’ tattooed on his butt. Learning!

The Canadian quartet continues to be a constant in my ears with their latest release “Magpie: Expanded Edition“, and the rest of their charming discography. Their set at Innings Festival featured a dozen tracks spanning their decade making music and opened with that beautiful instrumental jam as promised. Peach Pit has only a select handful of festival dates on the calendar, including the recent announcement of Shaky Knees. If you can, catch this band. Their live shows are filled with ear worms and high energy. If you walk in not knowing any songs, you’ll walk out wanting to know. For future updates, can follow Peach Pit here.

The post Interview: Peach Pit on Tattoos, The Simpsons in Fortnite, and Norm MacDonald appeared first on KRUI Radio.

FRIDAY 

I caught Fat, Evil Children as the foremost band of this festival, playing the Right Field Stage at 12:15. I had done some research beforehand and really enjoyed their sound so this was a must see. Coming out of the LA, they have begun branching out of state with their latest release “Can’t Stop” on November 28^th, 2025. This six song EP holds a favorite of mine, “The Weight” which was released as a single a few weeks before the EP. Following up on the Right Field stage was Congress, The Band. Out of South Carolina, this was the farthest out west the 5 piece indie rock group had been. Named after Congress St in Charleston, and not the house of government, they will be hitting the road this March with fellow Innings Festival band Common People. You can find tickets here. 

While exploring the festival grounds I heard an all too familiar sound. Like a siren calling me to the sea, I heard the second track to Bruce Springsteen’s third album “Born to Run”. Springsteen is a magnet of sorts for me, and with nothing to break the attraction, I ended up at The Left Field Stage watching Jake Peavy jam out with his band to “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”. Peavy was playing for my Chicago White Sox during a very formative time in my life. Watching the All-Star game in 2012, I never imagined I would hear him play “Franklin’s Tower” or The Boss. This is part of what makes Innings Festival so special, this was the only place you could find a childhood hero rocking out.  

Staying at Right Field for the time being, Peach Pit was up next. I had the opportunity to talk with the band before their set and discuss all things from The Simpsons in Fortnite to Norm MacDonald. That interview will be up soon on 89.7 KRUI. After a great interview, they came on stage with an instrumental jam into their self-titled song. Released in 2018 on the Sweet FA EP, “Peach Pit” is a tune that has been a staple in my playlists for years. It is Peach Pit at their best, with sincere lyrics that don’t beat you over the head with their feelings but decide to open the door and let you in if you choose. A dozen songs later, Peach Pit closed with fan favorite “Tommy’s Party”, painting the picture of a friendship that’s lost its flame in light of time and others taking priority. A mourning of something lost disguised as a slow jam where guitarist Chris Vanderkooy skates across the G Major Scale. A sound ending to one of my favorite sets of the weekend. Afterwards lead singer Neil Smith joined the crowd for pictures and high fives. Peach Pit has a handful of festival slots coming up this year. 

A album release party to remember, Mumford and Sons took the stage at 9:00pm on the night of their sixth studio album drop “Prizefighter”. Playing five tracks off the record, Marcus Mumford sprinted through seventeen songs spanning the band’s illustrious career. With his army of musicians behind him, the emphasis on the new record was warmly welcomed as this blues and rock inspired LP was made to be played for these huge crowds like this. Their 2025 record “RUSHMERE” wasn’t forgotten either as the two tracks were heard amongst the shuffle of their set. Marcus paid a compliment to the previous band on The Home Plate Stage, The Goo Goo Dolls, preaching “You get The Goo Goo Dolls night one and you’re fucked the rest of the weekend”. I concur Marcus, it’s difficult to follow up “Iris”. Mumford and Sons have just announced their “Prizefighter World Tour” including a stop at Hinterland in Iowa on August 1^st.  

SATURDAY 

I was elated to have finally caught The Backfires. The combination of New York indie and Britpop is featured heavy in this groups work, including 2022’s single “Blindsided”. The Backfires were quick to make fans as the dancing began almost immediately as they stepped on stage. They only have one more gig on the books so far in New York as they record a new album. You can follow their process on their Instagram.  

Right Field continued to be a place I found myself as Deer Tick was setting up. Something familiar hit my ears as the guys began playing “Bad to the Bone” as their soundcheck. I asked Deer Tick about their long and storied history with covers, including a handful of songs by mutual favorites The Pogues. You can hear all about it in my interview with Deer Tick that will be on 89.7 KRUI soon. Their set included a new song, “Mary Singletary”, from their upcoming record that will be released in June. During their set I had a thought, maybe it was that baseball was already involved, but their songs hold a very classic summer sound that feels reminiscent of CCR, The Eagles, and Dylan. Deer Tick have a handful of gigs in March around their home in the Northeast and just announced they will be playing returning to the midwest to play Summerfest in Milwaukee on Friday, June 19^th. 

At the left field stage, former pitcher and current entertainer, Ryan Dempster, continued his wonderful “Off The Mound” talk show. With a live band and a great selection of guests, Dempster is a natural at playing host to current and former baseball personalities. He entered the stage and did a quick monologue, joking how the Dodgers were so injury prone last year, one of their pitchers had to hit. I caught a lot of strays as a White Sox fan while at The Left Field Stage, on stage and off. Dempster, a long-time north sider, did not shy away from his bias to Wrigley. An olive branch was extended as one of his guests played for both sides of town. Jeff Samardzija spent six and a half season with the Cubs, and just a lonely singular year with the White Sox, was eager to talk both sports and music. Growing up a Sox fan, it was a dream to dawn the black and white pinstripes in 2015 even though baseball was not his original path. Samardzija was a two time All-American tight end and caught over 2,500 yards in three seasons for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Sharing stories of being a two-sport athlete and how youth sports have changed was interesting coming from a former professional athlete and current parents. He then spoke about meeting his wife at a Pink Floyd concert, as she was an employee to Roger Waters. After some light stalking and a few emails, Samardzija secured a date and the rest is history. It felt like watching a conversation with two old friends as Dempster created a relaxed environment and Samardzija putting his feet up. This was all wrapped together with a bow on top as the house band sounded spectacular as well.

I often hear from my seniors that there are no rock stars anymore. The spark has left the industry, guitar music is dead, and everything is made with computers now. Although computers may be scary to some, the rest could not be farther from the truth. Whenever you are in doubt, go see Cage the Elephant play a gig. Frontman Matt Schultz is a larger-than-life performer, flipping the lid off any containment he might have had. Alongside his brother Brad Schultz, drummer Jarod Champion, bassist Daniel Tichenor, and a batch of the strongest live musicians out there, Cage the Elephant was emphatic in their 19 song set. Matt Schultz mentioned that he may forget a few of the words during their performance, as they are in the process of making a new record. Their latest venture came in the form of 2024’s Neon Pill which they have toured extensively. With a new record on the way, there is a scarcity of gigs lined up for the Bowling Green natives. You can find any updates from the band here. 

Los Angeles local Lord Huron played a dreamy set as the blue lighting put him in this twilight-Esque setting, delivering a story time that a listener dreams of. Under the stars of the West, Ben Schneider put out a mix of new and old, with three songs off 2025’s “The Cosmic Selector: Vol 1” and four songs from a decades prior album “Strange Trails”. Lord Huron will embark on a lengthy tour this summer, including a stop in Waukee on July 19th. 

Twenty-One Pilots delivered a set full of new surprises at Innings Festival. Three live debuts and two covers is what Tempe was treated too, a shocker to any long time Twenty-One Pilot’s fans. Covers have eluded many fans for years, so hearing Milky Chance’s hit “Stolen Dance” intwined with the live debut of “One Way” was a shock to many. Near the end of the set, the stage went black and a static appeared on screen. Through the tech mist, rock and roll hero Jack White appeared on screen, adorned in red, black and white, to say “I’m Jack White and I give Tyler and Josh permission to do this song”. The static dissipated, and the stage became cloaked in red as the iconic “Seven Nation Army” riff began. This arrangement of The White Stripes classic was first introduced in Cleveland at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. The third live appearance of this song was well worth the wait. This was a landmark set for the band, introducing “Center Mass” and “Drag Path” to a live audience, and preparing for a busy summer in Europe.  

SUNDAY 

Bowling For Soup took main stage on the final day of Innings Festival at 2:30. People were tired and the sun was beating down on the weekend snow birds, but the Texas natives brought the energy with their collection of hits and theme songs. This set included a cover of Stacy’s Mom by Fountain’s of Wayne, often mistaken as a Bowling For Soup song, this was originally by the New York rockers. Jaret Reddick and company played everything I wanted to hear as they begin another busy year in Australia, UK, and supporting Simple Plan once again this summer. I spoke with Reddick about their tour and future of the band, which you can find here. 

Right after Bowling For Soup, another trio was on fire, this time at the Right Field Stage. With an hour to play with, Eve 6 jumped throughout their famed discography. Rising to prominence in 1998 with their self-titled debut record, there was heavy representation from that outing with five songs played including “Inside Out”. Time traveling 26 years later, Eve 6 also played the song “Dream Fist” which shares the same name as the record it is on. Throughout the lively story of their career, they have continued to hold their own and produce catchy tunes. Eve 6 has three dates on the books so far for 2026, you can find tickets here. 

An unknown walking into this weekend was Switchfoot. These surfer dudes won me over with their swoopy hair and sprightly tunes. This is what festivals are all about, finding a new band and becoming a fan. The song that hooked me “Dark Horses“, and that was partially due to a touch of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” being tossed in. The San Diego natives didn’t shy away from a cover as the very next tune was The Beastie Boys “Sabatoge” blaring from bassist Tim Foreman, brother of frontman Jon Foreman. Switchfoot will hit the road this summer, with Fuel and Lit joining for select dates.

The Right Field Stage was closing out with a bang. The combination of Big Boi and Public Enemy was tantalizing to the point of believing either could have been the headliner for that day. Big Boi, who is one half of Outkast, did not shy away from his past with 10 of his 17 songs being callbacks to his days with André 3000. Although omitting their biggest hit, “Hey Ya!”, the classics like “B.O.B.” and “Ms. Jackson” got the crowd moving. Big Boi will be supporting Kid Cudi this summer on his “Rebel Rangers Tour“.

One of the most iconic rap duos of all time, Chuck D. and Flavor Flav did not fail as my anticipation for this performance was far from small. I had missed Public Enemy in 2024 at Riot Fest, and it began to haunt me as in my Music and Social Change class, we watched a documentary starring Chuck D. Not only was the salt already in the wound as “Copyright Criminals” was assigned viewing, but to hear that the professor assigning it was the executive producer hurt even more. My professor, Kembrew McLeod, helped make this documentary out of nothing, embarking on a journey highlighting the often unfair world of sampling in hip-hop. Chuck D was prominent and even played a slot on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in celebration of the documentary. All of this to say, Public Enemy’s bar was raised very high. The lights grew dim and then exploded as two men in matching tracksuits walked out, one with a boombox in hand. Not far behind them were tow para-military dressed men, dawned in a yellow and gray camo. The venerable Flavor Flav then appeared in a sparkly white tracksuit before introducing the crowd to “my partner in crime, my partner in rhyme, my partner in time, Chuck D”. This set did not stop, unless Public Enemy wanted to make their political standings clear, which they were not shy about. Chuck D attempted to play it a little more subtle with his distaste for the current administration while his other half spoke with more blunt remarks. The duo was not timorous or apprehensive, continuing to take shots at the Presidents involvement in the Epstein Files or his decision to remove a bust of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. out of the Oval Office. This was “a major disrespect” said Flavor Flav to the Arizona audience as he reminded them that The Grand Canyon State was the first to recognize Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday as a federal holiday. These statements did not come as a surprise to someone who has listened to Public Enemy’s songs, read any interviews and lyrics, or read the name of their group. Overall, an absolutely electric performance from the hip-hop veterans as I look forward to seeing them again sooner rather than later. The duo will be opening up for Guns N’ Roses for select dates on their North American Tour this summer.

To end the festival at Home Plate was Sublime and blink-182. February 22nd is a special day for Sublime, as it is Bradley Nowell’s birthday. The founding member of Sublime, and father to current singer Jakob, was just 28 at the time of his passing, with Jakob only 11 months old. As time continued to move, Jakob joined Sublime in 2023 to take over where his father left off. At Innings Festival, surrounded by two humungous inflatable “Lou Dog’s”, Jakob made sure his fathers legacy was not forgotten. A bombastic set celebrating the all too brief discography of the Long Beach band was a joy to hear in the warmth of the southwest. The set included a cover of “Scarlet Begonais” by The Grateful Dead, a cover that was originated by Bradley back in 1992. Sublime’s set felt like a celebration, and I was happy to be there for it. Sublime will be touring across Australia, Europe, and North America this year continuing the party. You can find tickets here.

This Must Be The Place was at Innings Festival, handing out free doses of Naloxone at their stand and around the festival. An incredibly important collaboration to supply people with the tools to avoid overdoses. They have given away hundreds of thousands of doses throughout their time at festivals, and it was really cool to see Innings Festival embrace and uplift this organization.

blink-182 closed down the festival with their self proclaimed “only gig of the year” for which they “only practiced twice for”. The ladder comment was amended to “one and a half times because Tom (DeLonge) wanted to beat traffic” said bassist Mark Hoppus. The San Diego pop punk pillars breezed through their 19 song set that included two plays of Travis Barker’s only lead vocal appearance “FUCK FACE”. An abrasive name, yes. An abrasive song, also yes. Quick and to the point, like much of blink-182’s discography. This set was a greatest hits collection that featured four tunes a piece from “Enema of the State”, “Untitled”, “Take Off Your Pants and Jacket”, and their most recent outing “ONE MORE TIME”. The rest of the set was made of a scattering of tracks from other records like “California’s” “Bored to Death” and blink’s first hit “Damnit”. A personal highlight of a blink show is hearing what Mark will sing during the bridge of the “Dude Ranch” single, and we got a new one with “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” sung. I have heard “No Scrubs” by TLC, “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan and a variety of others but this bridge was on theme. blink will go into hibernation for the time being as we await what is next for The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show.

Bands don’t shy away from the baseball theming, really embracing the uniqueness of this festival. Congress, The Band sporting matching customized baseball jerseys, and even last year The Killers opened their headlining set with “Centerfield” by John Fogerty. The wide selection of artists, and the distinctive feeling the wraps around Tempe Beach Park make it a yearly pilgrimage for many. Innings Festival is not only a kick off to Spring Training, but festival season, as the gears begin to spin for 2026. I for one, am very excited for whats to come. Extra Innings Festival will be held in the same location this coming weekend as it focuses on country music. This is just the beginning. Stay tuned to KRUI for my interviews with Peach Pit, Deer Tick, and Eve 6 and tune into Downey’s Hour Monday Nights 9:00-11:00PM for your latest festival news!

All photos courtesy of Innings Festival.

The post Innings Festival Recap appeared first on KRUI Radio.

It was surreal to see this band as it was formed 20 years later, still singing through the modern classic The Michael Jordan of Drunk Driving tumbling over into Disposable Everything off their newest record. They chatted with folks between songs, completely just two dudes up on a stage. At one point, a Santa hat was given to Ben Gallaty, who captured the look extremely well. Their sound was sparse with just a guitar and stand-up bass, but they both pulled their notes full to flood into the crowd. AJJ’s most recent record Disposable Everything is definitely an “end of the world” record, nihilistic folk punk in every way AJJ was expected to deliver. They sang through songs about pride, waste, corporations, and the human greed destroying the planet and killing the humanity of what we have left to offer. It’s a change from their earlier discography, which focused through the same semi-nihilism ideas, but from a very personal view. Now, their messages encompass everyone, framed to describe the world at large, and the end of it all. Sean Bonnette’s voice rang out in a fully half-step-off pitch at every point where it mattered, it was a beautiful set. They closed out with a favorite, Big Bird, and the crowd sang and cried along while the final piercing notes of AJJ howled around us.

Room is a generous term to describe The Raccoon Motel venue, a tall but narrow side to the main bar, it’s like Gabe’s upstairs had a wall built halfway lengthwise and shoved a sold out show into the space, people like sardines in a quaint tin. The stage was no different, stickered amps, two guitars, a bass, a firetruck red tambourine, a synth set, a drum kit with the newest Cursive album cover skinned onto the front, and a fucking electric cello sat squished together on a stage that would struggle to fit a mattress, with a massacre of Hy-Vee plastic water bottles scattered around.

That one dude (don’t know his name but remember his voice) who announces these kinds of shows with his crazy impressive yelling stepped on stage to introduce a poet to prelude the Cursive set. A man read out his poem he wrote from emotions seeing Cursive perform when they were last in Iowa, I don’t recall what he said, but his words struck into me that this would be a special show, that could affect us in the same way to be moved into poetry. His words ended, and five people walked on stage, the sixth (Tim Kasher) less walking than bouncing into his spot. 5/6ths of the band was wearing a button-up shirt that night.

This tour formed for the release of the most recent Cursive album, Devourer. Released last year, Devourer is this maniacal end-of-the-world frustration and this idea of the great consumer, an imperialistic devourer that controls our lives, and the very personal imperialism that we find eating away at our own selves. Regaling earthquakes, volcanoes, gasoline advertisements, and self-immolation DIY, and the Cursive protagonist’s own denial of reality as they’re stuck within their own consumptions.

“Happiness is in the devouring. I saw our future, and I want to go back,” Cursive opened the final show of their tour with Consumers. This band has mastered building melodies out of simple riffs for decades, somehow reinventing a blowing heaviness within each pattern. It’s so simple, yet never boring. They continue into The Casualty, another dense melodic tune as the set continues weaving tracks around their full discography from the past 20 years. During a break, Tim Kasher justifies that since this is the last night of their tour, “we have a lot of fucking off to get out of our systems.” As Cursive gets comfortable on the twin-size stage, the singer Tim and cellist Megan Siebe continue to get lost in the throes of their hammering tones. The rest of the band plays incredibly with a much more subdued energy, the others with that desperate gleam of an exhausted runner in their last mile of a month-long marathon.

As the set continued, you could notice a distinct difference in the energy between their older music, and their most recent album. Tracks like The Recluse and Caveman from their younger years were played with a loose recklessness, they felt like a band of 20-somethings playing with lazy exaggeration to cause a scene. That same recklessness became much more intentional, almost a nihilistic abandon during The Avalanche of Our Demise and tracks from Devourer, still filling the hall with the same thundering energy but with a stronger intention.

Cursive continued their unburdening “fucking off” spiral, and the crowd joined right in with them. All around, the vast sprawls of middle-aged dudes in beanies and baseball caps screamed along, a drunk birthday girl and her even drunker friends all dressed in tiaras shoving and shrieking against the rail, before collapsing under the weight of the tallest moshpit I’ve experienced heralding the first thrums of Art is Hard. I’m not exactly one for self-preservation, but even under the intoxicating cello pulls of that tune I’m not fucking about in the midst of eight dudes with perfect elbows swinging into my eye level. Immediately after finishing the song, Tim threw the shot back he had so tenderly carried on stage with him as it became increasingly obvious he was at least reasonably hammered, whipping his ridiculous curtains on his head all around.

Megan Siebe on the cello really pulls Cursive together as a band, the final and fundamental piece that separates them apart from the whole slew of indie-rock bands out there. Seeing her play live was incredible, bridging some gap between classical technique and rock with her skill and intense energy. She also had a wee finger monster stuck onto a knob on her cello, mad respect. I’ve been a huge fan of their music for years, one of the bands that really dragged me into this divorced-dad-indie-rock shithole that we love and adore. Cursive as a band has changed so much, and not at all since their humble Omaha beginnings. It was really lovely to see them at the end of this tour, to really experience how they’ve stayed exactly the same yet changed so much, their fundamental uniqueness staying so consistent yet fresh for the past 20 years. They closed out their main set with From the Hips, with nothing more needing to be said.

Huge thanks to The Raccoon Motel for supporting KRUI, to check out their upcoming events (or to see Kermit hanging off a mountain lion) visit them in downtown Davenport. They’re hosting a record party on New Years Eve. Thanks as well to Marshall Rogers for sharing these lovely photos.

The post The end of the world written in Andrew Jackson’s script, Cursive with AJJ at The Raccoon Motel, December 21 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Fans have been speculating for months about who was going to play the last tour, with guesses ranging from plausible to never-gonna-happen (*cough cough* a My Chemical Romance reunion). Alas, the lineup has been revealed and the consensus is split: some are very ecstatic about the lineup, and some are incredibly disappointed. As for me? I’m definitely excited, but I can see where people were disappointed.

Before I jump into my top ten picks, I want to address the certain marketing tactic that they used to announce the bands. As always, they post a photo with all the bands written on it in alphabetical order, with asterisks by the bands that weren’t playing the whole tour. This year, instead of asterisks, they put those bands in a purple font as opposed to the black font. At first glance, you don’t realize that they aren’t playing the full tour until you see the fine print at the bottom.

A lot of fans were upset about this, mostly because some really big bands are playing, with a lot of them only playing select dates. This sucked, because there are a lot of big names, Warped-esque bands, such as All Time Low, Asking Alexandria, Bowling For Soup, Sum 41, and Taking Back Sunday, that are only playing one or two dates. While they do clarify that they aren’t playing the full tour, one can’t really tell at first glance, which makes the lineup a little bit more disappointing.

But enough of that. I’m still pretty pumped about the bands that are playing the full tour, which all ten of these are.

1.) Movements

I CAN’T CONTAIN MY EXCITEMENT TO SEE THIS BAND LIVE AGAIN. I saw them at last years Warped Tour, when they were on a small stage with a small crowd, and this year they have been upgraded to the MAIN STAGE! These guys released a killer album last October, titled “Feel Something,” which skyrocketed their career (hence the spot on the main stage). If you’re into post-hardcore emo, then you definitely need to check out this band.

Favorite song: Vacant Home

2.) The Maine

The Maine also released an amazing album last year, “Lovely Little Lonely.” I’ve only seen them once before, but that was before LLL came out and before I was really that big of a fan. The Maine are a rock band from Arizona, and they’ve played Warped shows in the past. Now that I’m into their music some more, I’m really excited to see them this summer.

Favorite song: How Do You Feel?

3.) State Champs

Tbh, I’ve seen State Champs like 5 or 6 times already. What can I say? They’re one of my all-time favorite bands that also happens to be one of the biggest in the pop-punk scene today. When I first saw them at Warped Tour back in 2014, they were still relatively small. I’m excited to see them again this year, back on the main stage, performing my favorite songs. Talk about coming full circle, huh?

Favorite song: All or Nothing

4.) Knuckle Puck

Knuckle Puck are a band that I’ve fallen deeply in love with over the last few years. They just released their sophomore album, “Shapeshifter,” this past October. It took a little while to grow on me, but I absolutely love it now, so I’m definitely excited to see them play some of their new material live.

Favorite song: Want Me Around

5.) Real Friends

Whenever I think about Real Friends, I think about the first time I saw them at Warped Tour 2014. If you couldn’t tell already, that years Warped Tour was an amazing year that got me into a lot of my current favorite bands. Real Friends are a pop punk band from Chicago, and they always give fun performances no matter where they play, but there’s something a little bit more special about their Warped shows.

Favorite song: Summer

6.) Grayscale

At this time last year, I had no idea who Grayscale was. And now, I. love. them. I discovered them shortly after the release of their 2017 pop-punk album “Adornment,” and now I can’t get enough of them. They’re still relatively small(ish), and I think those are some of the most fun sets to see live at Warped. I haven’t had the chance to see them live yet, and I hear that they’re awesome, so I’m excited.

Favorite song: Beautiful Things

7.) Broadside

Broadside are a pop punk band that I tried to see at Warped 2016, but just barely missed. They also released an album last year, “Paradise.” I haven’t listened to it too much, but from what I’ve heard of it, it’s pretty good. I loved their album “Old Bones,” and their sound overall, so I hope that I get to see them this year.

Favorite Song: Coffee Talk

8.) Simple Plan

You might be thinking, “Simple Plan are still around?” and the answer is yes, yes they are. I actually got to see them live here in Iowa City a couple years ago for the University of Iowa Homecoming (review of that here). While that was a fun, outdoor night show, I want to see them during the Warped atmosphere. They’re definitely one of the more popular Warped Tour veterans, having played the festival 1999-2005, 2011, 2013, and 2015. I’m excited to hear their most popular tunes.

Favorite song: I’m Just A Kid

9.) With Confidence

After some drama went down with the band over the past year, they’ve been kind of silent. But now, they’re ready to play Warped this year, and I’m pretty excited. I saw them as an opening band once, but what I’m really looking forward to is seeing them at Warped.

Favorite song: Voldemort

10.) Mayday Parade

And last but not least, Mayday Parade. I’ve already seen them live a handful of times, two of those being at past Warped Tours, but nonetheless, I’m still excited to see them. Mayday Parade always puts on a great show with their outstanding stage presence. They’re always so excited to be playing live, making the Warped experience that much better.

Favorite song: Just Say You’re Not Into It

So there you have it! Make sure to stay tuned for my review of the festival this summer. In the meantime, check out my review of Warped Tour 2016 here, Warped Tour 2017 here, and also my thoughts on the end of Warped Tour here.

The post Jen’s Top Ten’s: Bands I want to see at Warped Tour 2018 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

#1: Gonzaga (61) V. West Virginia (58) (Sweet 16)

One of my three brackets had those dang Mountaineers winning the whole thing. And If they would have, I would have looked like an NCAA genius. Alas, the term “Would have” was used twice in that last sentence. A defensive battle through and through, these two teams relied on their ability to create turnovers and hit shots from outside the paint. The Bulldogs started to pull away midway through the second half, but Jevon Carter hit crucial shots to pull the Mountaineers close,

and even in the lead late. Gonzaga remained unfazed as they have been the whole year under Head Coach Mark Few, and Jordan Mathews hit the dagger 3 in the end. It was so refreshing to watch a college basketball game that relied so heavily on defense yet remained so close. Even though West Virginia out rebounded Gonzaga 41-34, They only shot 27% from the field. Yikes. That’s not a winning formula. Yet, they remained close the whole game. This was a classic nail-biter the whole way, and a true test for the Bulldogs.

#2 South Carolina (88) V. Duke (81) (Round of 32)

The surprise team of the bracket, South Carolina, started paving their road to the final four with this win against ACC champions, Duke. This game was all about momentum. Duke had a 30-23 lead at halftime. Grayson Allen was leading his Blue Devils as to what seemed like a certain sweet sixteen bid, until Sindarius Thornwell got hot in the second half, leading a 65 point surge against the Blue Devils with 19 points of his own. Which, is the most points allowed in a single half by a Mike Krzyzewski-led team. The swing of momentum and shooting in the second half led to a fall from grace for Duke, who had an impressive end of the season. And although the Gamecocks fell to the aforementioned Bulldogs, their run was a true testament as to how unexpected the month of March can really be.

#3 Xavier (73) V. Arizona (71) (Sweet 16)

The #11 Musketeers were the cinderella story of this year. They beat #6 Maryland and then went on to vaporize #3 Florida State. After those two tests of strength, Xavier met against the #2 Wildcats, who were favorites to not only win the game, but make it to the final four. This game, like most on this list, was close until the bitter end. Trevon Bluiett led Xavier with 25 points and was 9/17 from the field. But what made this game so interesting to watch were the final 45 seconds. Where Sean O’mara got one of the most beautiful passes I have ever seen to score down low to put the Musketeers up by two. After a missed shot and 20 seconds off the clock, O’Mara had the chance to be the hero once more, by

going to the line to put Xavier up by 4 and end the game. He, however, failed to make his first and only free throw, giving Arizona a chance to score. After passes galore from the Wildcats, Allonzo Trier missed his last shot of the tournament, propelling #11 Xavier to the Elite Eight. It was a crazy one to watch, and a bracket-buster for sure.

Honorable Mentions:

Oregon (69) V. Michigan (68) (Sweet 16)

North Carolina (75) V. Kentucky (73) (Elite Eight)

Wisconsin (65) V. Villanova (62) (Round of 32)

#4 Florida (84) V. Wisconsin (83) ( Sweet 16)

It what was arguably the most exciting last 3 minutes of the tournament, the Wisconsin Badgers and Florida Gators matched up in a sweet sixteen game that will not be soon forgotten. After a pretty even 1st half, both teams seemed to be in a good position to take the reins and lead the game away from the other team. Florida was that team. They came out with a high-energy attack that left Virginia in the dust in their Round of 32 victory. Playing fast, smart basketball is what Florida does best. Up 68-56 with 5 minutes to go is almost always a death sentence. Not for the Badgers. Creating turnovers and capitalizing on them was Wisconsin’s way of letting the world that they’re still kicking, and not going down without a fight. Zak Showalter became the hero for the entire state of Wisconsin after his incredibly awkward 3-point shot with 3 seconds left in the game. Sending the what was sure to be over game into overtime.

There, Wisconsin rode the momentum given to them by Showalter and jumped ahead. With the score being 80-75 with one minute left, the Gators seemed all but finished. But, they call it March Madness for a reason. Just like the Badgers before them, the Gators capitalized on Badger mistakes, bringing the game within 2 with a few seconds to go. And, like Zak Showalter before him, Chris Chiozza hit his mark at the buzzer. Forever enshrining himself in Gainesville basketball legend.

Excitement comes in the strangest of forms

Thinking about March Madness is well, maddening. The odds of a perfect bracket are so astronomically improbable, you might as well figure yourself a football playing king in space. With a mustache. Picking teams that you are likely not connected to in any way aside from, “I need the Tar Heels to win because Janice from Accounting has the Wildcats winning. And I want Janice’s money.” The typical affair. And these picks make our heads hurt when they lose, or our hearts light when the win. It’s all about being alive and experiencing the wonder of sport. Being a fan even if it is only for one month. And if this year taught us anything, the Madness won’t stop anytime soon.

The post After the Madness: A Story of Broken Brackets appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The Favorites

Gonzaga- Don’t let their status as a mid major fool you, Gonzaga has been a giant for a while now. They’ve been a tournament regular for the last two decades and have made it to the sweet 16 the last two season, including an elite eight appearance in 2015. Now don’t get me wrong, Gonzaga’s conference is an absolute walk in the park, and they were a #1 seed just four seasons ago only to fall in the second round. Still, most consider this Gonzaga team to be their best one yet, and I would have to agree. The main reason why, which has been well documented, is their three major out of conference wins against top 20 opponents. Iowa State. Florida. Arizona. If Duke or Kentucky or even a program like Maryland had three wins like that in their first eight games, critics would be singing their praises from the mountain tops. Gonzaga has sustained enough recent success to deserve that same praise. The Zags are 13th in scoring, 10th in scoring defense, and have a plus 23.4 point differential. No one has beaten Gonzaga outside of a fortunate BYU team at the end of regular season play. The Bulldogs got back on track in their conference tourney and ended with an exclamation point against a quality Saint Mary’s squad. Don’t expect Gonzaga to be going home anytime soon.

Arizona- Maybe the hottest team in the country right now. They’ve lost only four games all season, all to teams that are a #4 seed or lower in the NCAA tournament, which gives them the strongest resume of losses in the country. But at the end of the day its about the games you win, and despite winning 27 total games and 16 out of 18 in the PAC 12, it seemed as if Arizona played the entire season in the shadows of UCLA and Oregon. That changed in dramatic fashion last week, as Arizona beat both the Bruins and the Ducks on back to back nights to capture the PAC 12 conference tournament title. What impressed the nation most during those two wins was the play of 7’0 Finnish freshman Lauri Markkanen who averages over 15 points and seven boards a game while shooting just under 50 percent including 43 percent from deep. Much like Gonzaga, Arizona is a serious force to be reckoned with.

Everyone is Talking About…

Notre Dame- The #5 seed seems a tad low for the Irish considering their strong 12-6 conference record in a loaded ACC, including seven total wins against NCAA tournament foes and a trip to the conference title game. The Irish seem to always fly under the radar, but their back to back elite eight trips might have forced teams to finally take notice. However, just because opponents have taken notice of ND doesn’t mean the Irish will go down any easier. They have four different players that average over 13ppg and they can score from inside and out. All conference power forward Bonzie Colson has led the Irish all year, averaging 17.5ppg and over 10 rebounds a contest. At only 6’5, he plays like he’s 6’9 and has wowed opposing players, coaches, and fans game in and game out. The biggest obstacle the Irish face, especially if they get to the sweet 16 and face Gonzaga, is they seldom play anyone over 6’8. Mike Brey has found ways to play around their lack of size all season, and Irish fans should be hopeful that he can continue to work small ball magic in the tournament.

Don’t be Fooled by…

Maryland- The Terrapins came out of the gates with an impressive 20-2 start and were the early favorites to win the Big Ten title. A deeper look at the numbers show that their hot start was just a smokescreen. Only two of their first 20 wins were against the RPI top 50 opponents, both came at home and neither team spent any time this season in the top 25. The Terps then unsurprisingly lost six of their last 10 and are limping into March. Outside of all-conference point guard Melo Trimble, Maryland doesn’t have another playmaker. A major theme in this tournament is the emergence of several talented underclassmen, but Maryland’s three freshman starters leave much to be desired. Guard Anthony Cowan provides Trimble some relief as a ball handler, Kevin Huerter helps spread the floor as a shooter, and Justin Jackson provides some inside out flexibility at the four. But none of the three, nor senior starting center Damonte Dodd, provide enough support on the offensive end to make them a serious threat. Melo Trimble might have enough heroics left in him for one more win before he presumably bolts for the draft, but Maryland’s ceiling is probably the second round.

If the Slipper Fits….

Xavier-  Maryland’s first round opponent has limped into the tournament very much in the same fashion as Maryland has, with one huge exception. Their starting point guard Edmond Summer returned from injury in the conference tournament and helped the Musketeers win a huge game against Butler, arguably their best win of the season. Unlike Maryland, Xavier has multiple scoring options as all three of their starting guards average over 14 ppg. Xavier was a promising team before Summer got hurt, and there is reason to be optimistic that they can catch lightning in a bottle this weekend with Summer back in the lineup.

Five Players to Watch 

SO SG Alonzo Trier, Arizona- Trier was suspended for the first 19 games of the season for a controversial failed drug test. In fifteen games this season he has led the Wildcats with 17.3 ppg while shooting over 41 percent from three. The presence of Trier in the lineup has many people believing the Wildcats can win the title

JR PG Nigel Williams-Goss, Gonzaga-  The Bulldogs’ leading scorer and assist man is also their most suffocating perimeter defender. Considering the vast amount of talented guards in this tournament, Williams-Goss is vital to Gonzaga’s chances of winning the title.

SO G/F Dwayne Bacon, Florida State- The leading scorer for the regional’s #3 see

d has all of the physical tools to excel at the next level, and he’s shown enough glimpses of that raw talent to help lead the Seminoles to an impressive 25 win season. However, he has yet to mesh all of his talents together to the point where the nation is convinced that Florida State is a real contender.

FR PF/C Jonathan Isaac, Florida State – See above.

SR SG  Steve Vasturia, Notre Dame- Yes, he’s only been playing for four years. I couldn’t believe it either. The decorated senior will be responsible for leading the Fighting Irish’s three point attack, which needs to be successful in order to make up for his team’s lack of size.

Predictions

I have been praising Notre Dame quite a bit, so it should come as no surprise that I believe they will come out and handle both Princeton and (presumably) West Virginia. The most potentially intriguing game in the regional could be Notre Dame and Gonzaga. Even though ND has gotten to the elite eight the last two years by beating teams they shouldn’t have, I have trouble believing that their most prolific player Bonzie Colson will be able to dominate the paint the way he normally does against the 7’3 Przemek Karnowski. On the bottom half of the bracket, I don’t think there is a lower seed with enough fire power to win two games, including Xavier. That would pin FSU against Arizona in the sweet 16. The duo of Bacon and Isaac likely isn’t enough to top the balanced and dangerous WIldcats, advantage Arizona.

Just like the east regional, I believe the top two seeds in the regional will face off against each other in the regional final. Even though Gonzaga beat Arizona on a neutral floor this season, that was without Alonzo Trier. With Trier being reinstated and Markkanen looking like an unstoppable force in the PAC 12 tournament, it’s hard to imagine anyone beating Arizona right now. Expect Arizona to match up against Villanova in the final four.

The post NCAA Tournament Breakdown:West Regional appeared first on KRUI Radio.

CBS reviled the field of 68 Sunday afternoon, leading most college basketball fans around the country to fill out their brackets. Each fan hoping to win their work pool, or the much more unlikely option, having a perfect bracket.

The name of the tournament speaks for itself, the tournament is unpredictable. The odds to accurately predicting a flawless bracket are about 1 in 9.2 quintillion.

Even with such unpredictability, there are a couple themes stand true about who is likely to be making the trip to Glendale for the Final Four. Year after year, the tournament is complete madness but the road to the Final Four is more simple than it would seem.

Veteran Guards Win Championships

Over the last ten years the team that cuts down the nets features a star, usually veteran, guard. Half of the last ten years Final Four Most Outstanding Players were upperclassmen. Add the Russ Smith and Payton Siva from Louisville’s win in 2013 to the mix as well.

Last year, Villanova’s Ryan Arcidiacono led his team through the gantlet NCAA tournament to their first National Championships since 1985. Coach Jay Wright touted Arcidiacono’s leadership skills, even saying he was a mini version of himself.

Arcidiacono scored 16 points in the championship game but was highlighted by the assist to Kris Jenkins that led to the buzzer-beating shot. Graduating a year ago, Villanova will be without Arcidiacono.

Villanova, among others, features a veteran guard. One that can assist is leading their team through the NCAA tournament.

Josh Hart, a senior for Villanova, is averaging just over 18 points-per-game, leading the team to their number-one seed in East Regional. Not only will his experience in college help but playing on the biggest stage last year won’t hurt.

Hart, a shooting guard, is at the mercy of sophomore Jalen Brunson leading the offense. Brunson and others still are able to find their leader to put on the points for the Wildcats.

Two other veteran shooting guards on power-conference teams have the ability to lead their squad deep into the tournament. UCLA’s Bryce Alford and Duke’s Grayson Allen both have experience on the big stage, Allen won the national championship in 2015.

Alford is playing for his father, Steve, who won the national championship in 1987. Now head UCLA coach, Steve played guard in college as well.

UCLA’s guard play is among the best in the country, featuring Alford and super-star freshman Lonzo Ball. Between the two, UCLA leads all teams averaging over 90 points-per-game.

Midwest Region number-one Kansas also has a two headed monster. Senior Frank Mason III and junior Devonte’ Graham, who alternate at point-guard. As a result, Mason and Graham account for around a fourth of the team’s points.

Mason is among the nation’s top scorers and that is something that is unlikely to change once tournament play begins. He is averaging 20 points-per-game this season.

Conference rival and Big 12 champion Iowa State is a slightly less likely championship contender. Despite being a five-seed, the Cyclones senior Monte Morris holds similar qualities to the above named guards.

Morris leads Iowa State is scoring and has played a key role in the Cyclones peaking at the right time. Morris isn’t the only veteran guard, three of his teammates that rank second, third, and fourth in scoring are also senior guards.

While Iowa State might not be Villanova or Kansas, they could be a team to watch.

Some lower seeded teams aren’t necessarily looking to raise the trophy in Glendale. Their hopes are to win just a game. Having a guard with a hot hand makes that all the more possible.

Winthrop senior Keon Johnson is top-ten in Division I with over 22 point-per-game. His Winthrop Eagles are a 13-seed and will play Butler but that isn’t anything to stop a player shooting 40-percent from behind the arch.

Making over a fourth of Winthrop’s points, Johnson will be an under the radar senior guard to watch on the first weekend.

Don’t Underestimate Anyone

It’s easy to pick by the seeds, and chances are that will result in a solid bracket. Since 2010, 62-percent of top-four seeds have advanced on to the sweet-sixteen. Fairly good odds with as many upsets that due happen.

Each year there are a group of teams that shake up the field and make it further than anyone expected. Whether 15-seed Florida Gulf Coast advancing to the regionals or George Mason making the Final Four, crazy things happen.

Last year was Syracuse, and it very well could be again, that made the Final Four as a double-digit seed. Teams like Wichita State, Butler, and VCU have recently advanced to the final weekend.

Other times it’s an early round upset that busts a bracket. Most times those are harder to predict. Trying to selected a low-seed that will take down a perennial power, it isn’t easy.

Year after year it seems that a 12-seed will knock-off a 5-seed. In the last five years, multiple 5-seeds have fallen each year except 2015.

Often the 12-line corresponds with the bubble. The teams assigned a 12-seed are either the last of the at-large or the best of the small automatic bids. This year that line includes UNC-Wilmington, Nevada, Princeton, and Middle Tennessee.

All four of the 12-seeds will be dangerous in the second round. Each squad boasts a factor that cannot be ignored.

UNC-Wilmington ranks top-five in offensive efficiency. Nevada’s Marcus Marshall averages just under 20 points-per-game. Princeton enters the tournament on a 19 game winning streak. Middle Tennessee, one year removed from upsetting 2-seed Michigan State, returns nearly their entire roster from last years’ team.

Even though the seeds are high, the Big Ten schools tend to show up when it matters. Michigan sits on the seven-line and Wisconsin an eight-seed.

Major conference schools that feel they are seeded low will show two different outcomes. Some will roll over and others will go out with something to prove.

The Big Ten, as a conference, is seeded lower than in the past. In addition, the committee also left out three teams form the big dance: Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana. Watching how the Big Ten will respond could present an entertaining tournament.

When All Else Fails, Pick a One-Seed

A one-seed has never lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament. It’s been close recently, Arizona and Gonzaga both narrowly escaping with single digit wins. The closest a 16 has ever come is one point.

The field features three number-one-seed teams from major conferences and one from a small mid-major. Villanova, Kansas, and North Carolina out of power basketball conferences are the odds on favorites to head to Glendale. Gonzaga, the West Coast Conference champions, have the best record of any team in the tournament.

Villanova and Kansas could face intriguing matchups in the third round. 8-seed Wisconsin is one win from Villanova and 9-seed Michigan State the same distance from Kansas. Both teams played in the Final Four two years ago.

North Carolina, the one-seed in the South Regional, has been the third most talked about school of the region. Both ESPN and CBS thought higher of Kentucky and UCLA out of that bracket than the Tar Heels, despite their regular season ACC title.

Multiple teams, all seeded anywhere from one to three, could have been on the one-line. UCLA, Duke, Kentucky, and Oregon could all make a run at the Final Four.

Look for the high seeds to be strong, even with as crazy as the year has been. The one-seeds have history on their side.

The post What to Look for in March Madness appeared first on KRUI Radio.

March 17th: Grand Canyon- Marble Canyon-Zion
We got up around 9 am, packed and headed straight to cross the border from Arizona to Utah. We were on a steep highway, and the view was extraordinary. You can take a symmetrical picture with the blue sky and the red rock mountain on the side inside your car. Also, you can also go on a road trip through Grand Canyon, Marble Canyon to Zion National Park.

On the two hour trip, we made a stop at the Navajo Bridge crossing the Colorado River. There was a huge contrast between the modern bridge and the rough mountain. Our three girls just could not stop taking pictures and ran around like crazy. Around 12 pm, we arrived at Zion National Park. We were worried if we could not find a site since the reservations were always booked out. (A tip here is to make a reservation three months ahead of time, and then you are guaranteed for your spot.)We luckily got two spots, and there was phone signal. That signal seems important for the outdoor beginner like us.

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Hidden Canyon:
It was late afternoon, and we were finally ready for another hike. We took a shuttle to go up to the mountain. We got to the trailhead of Weeping Rock, which is a readily available tourist attraction. We were expected to climb for an hour, but it was a short trip, and we climbed to a dead-end after ten minutes. Weeping rock is simply the water descending from the sandstone, which looks like a small fountain.

Then our leader led us to a more challenging route-the Hidden Canyon after going back to the trailhead. It is roughly 3 miles total and 1000-ft elevation which is strenuous. At the beginning of the trail is fun. It is uphill switchbacks that are pretty narrow, but you can climb by holding the chain on the side.

After a five-minute climb, the route that we can walk ended; we faced huge rocks and log. Our leader was bit concerned and said we might not finish the trail since it was getting dark, but he seemed to want us to try the trail because it looks like the real rock climbing. Some people in our team are a big fan of indoor rock climbing (the one in the Campus Recreation Center), they could not hold back and climbed up on the stone.

I was scared by the first obstacle- the stacked rocks. There was a stand on the first rock, but then between the second and the third rock, only small support points that you have to use your leg strength to stand on and move on to the top rock. I failed the first time and then made it. There were other difficult parts. Such as to slide down a couple of occasions from a higher point to the end from a rock or walk on a cliff that you would rather jump than walk. The view is plain, but the whole process of hiking up and down through the obstacles is challenging and fun. Someone in our group joked that it is the real hiking.

March 18th Angel’s landing 

Before we started to hike, our leader discussed the Angel’s landing’s steepness with us. He explained that it looks like an 180-degree elevator. It is roughly 1500 feet steep, and it takes 3-6hours round trips. Angel’s Landing was my favorite hike during our journey when you accomplished the hiking straight up and saw the view from the top of the mountain. There was a fifteen minutes walk that was switchbacks like S shape before the trailhead of Angel’s Landing.

It was not even the trailhead of Angel’s landing. When I looked up to the top of the mountain, people were climbing up, and it looked like they were going to fall since it was so steep. There was stacked rocks put near the trailhead, which was used as a sign for hikers to know they are on a right track. The climbing gave me a different feeling than climbing in Grand Canyon. The surrounding view was brutal- the sharp red stone and no stairs for hikers. At the last part of the trail, the trail was becoming more and more narrow. Some people hiked down were waiting for us to hike up; they even cheer up for us: you are almost there. When we finished and rested sitting by the edge of the mountain and taking pictures, we saw there were people on the opposite of the mountain doing rock climbing. Oh my goodness how can they do that. When you finished the angel’s landing, you would admire the professional rock climbers. On our way to hike down, our team became more united as a team. We helped each other when there was no chain. There were other climbers that brought a music player playing some cheesy pop song like Gangnang style and jumped down the stairs or rocks.

The way to go down was more fun and hilarious. One funny clip, one member of our team had something bad at breakfast, and he kept going to the bathroom. Because there was only one bathroom before the trailhead of Angel’s landing. Whenever he went down to the switchback and felt uncomfortable in his stomach, he had to climb to the bathroom and came down back and forth.

March 19th Bryce Canyon- Arches Dedicate Arch

The next day, we went to a nice café for breakfast. It is a French style café, and we had fancy crepes or omelets. We all felt moved that this was the best breakfast during our trip besides having the tortilla with jam, or trail mix, etc.

Later we headed to Bryce Canyon. Because there was still snow on the trail, we decided to drive up to the sunset point to see the overview of Bryce Canyon. Below the point, there were thousands of hoodoos and forests in between. Bryce Canyon looks much lower and flat than Zion or Grand Canyon, but it is quite magnificent. If you heard of the Terra Cotta Warriors (buried with the first emperor of the Qin dynasty) that is located in Xian, China, they look quite similar in the size.

After the short view in Bryce Canyon, we were heading to our final hike- Arches National Park. We were determined to do the 3 miles hike and see the sunset. The driving tour already led us to see a lot of arches. Different rocks formed into the open or closing arch. The trail started with the flat route and turned into a huge slab, and we could not see the dedicated arch at this point. Slowly climbing and there were the dedicated arch and some other large stones. We were spread out and take pictures when under the sunset. A guy threw his bottle of water down the slope, and it continued to bump the rock and went down. Some people just chilled and laughed about his action of throwing it. I couldn’t remember our conversation down at the dedicated arch; I only remembered we were excited about the good retreat- food for our five-day hikes. We had nice dinner at an American restaurant in Moab. The burger, fries and sausage was what we were missing during the trip.

Camping life:

We spent two nights at the Watchman campground at Zion. Since we got to the camping site late, we occupied two sites; one was by the river, and the other one was by the parking area. It was not hot because we were near the river and we stayed at the bottom where we had a nice view of the surrounding mountains. At night, we did camp fire by the river.

At the first night, we were tired after the challenging hidden canyon hike, so we decided to have some beers and snacks. Our leader, the chef, started to do a dessert, which is a remix of sliced banana, marshmallows, and chocolates, and he wrapped it up in tinfoil.

The roast banana tasted just right. After that, we decided to do some photoshoots by using cellphones’ light to draw letters quickly. The long exposure time created cool delay pictures of our names we wrote.

The second night was quite unforgettable because we talked about our feeling as a team to make the hiking trip. I remembered one girl mentioned that she would never expect we got along well, and we enjoyed outdoors and also cared each others as a team. I was quite surprised that though our two leaders have never led a team before, but they were capable of making routes, cheering up and leading a fun trip. The small talk went on and switched to joke and gossip. I felt like the hiking trip was one of my field trips in high school that I want to explore again.

Checkout my next column on a different location and more fun stories!

This monthly column will cover my traveling experience, my reflection of the local culture, people and food in different locations. 

The post Travel Around the World: Spring Break Hiking Trip, Part 2 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The Associated Press released its poll of the top 25 men’s college basketball teams in the nation (http://collegebasketball.ap.org/poll).

No changes to the top two sports as Villanova and Kansas hold their positions from last week. Virginia comes into the top five as the number three team in the nation after previously being ranked seven. Oklahoma remains number three due to the fact that they tied Virginia in points based off of how the writers voted. The Xavier Musketeers are at the five spot to round out the top five.

Michigan State moves up from their eight spot to six.

Your Hawkeyes slide down to eight after the loss to Penn State, their only game on the schedule for their entire week.

The Terrapins, coming off of a loss to Minnesota, drop down to the tenth spot to round out the top ten.

The Hoosiers and the Boilermakers of Purdue are the next two teams from the Big Ten in the top 25 coming in at 18 and 20, respectively.

Highest Movers: Louisville Up seven spots to 18, Duke up five spots to 15.

BIG GAMES AHEAD- ALL TIMES EASTERN

Saturday February 27, 2016

9 Arizona (22-5, 10-4) v.s. 22 Utah (21-7, 10-5)- 2:00

7 North Carolina (22-5, 11-3) v.s. 3 Virginia (21-5, 10-4)- 6:30

(http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/scoreboard)

College basketball fans salivate. Another week of outstanding matchups that will be nothing short of greatness.

The Hawkeyes faceoff against the Ohio State Buckeyes at 3:00 on Sunday trying to get back on track after the loss to wisconsin last night.

The post Week 16 Rankings and A Look Ahead appeared first on KRUI Radio.