"Say You're Leavin' On a Seven-Thirty Train And That You're Headin' Out To Hollywood ..." Aerosmith Concert! New Job! 24! And More!

I'm BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK in the saddle agaiiiiiiiiiiin.

Man, what a week. Endings, beginnings, and Aerosmith, all in the span of a few days.

Where to start? Ah yes, this past Wednesday's amazing AEROSMITH concert.

Me, Brian, Liz and Kyle ventured down to the Staples Center for an awesome evening of ROCK, and in the grand summation of things, it was a night to remember. When we got to Staples, we were all kind of amused that our seats turned out to be in the absolute last row of the entire arena ... but hey, at least we were dead center in the middle, so we had a clean line of sight to the huge stage straight ahead of us. So we bukled in and prepared for a ride, creating our own party from high atop the watchtower. Lenny Kravitz kicked things off with a solid set of music. Lenny worked in some very nice and very cool jam sessions with his band members, including a virtuoso tromboner by the name of Trombone Shorty who single-handledly turned things up a notch. Mr. Kravitz brought out most of his big hits, including workmanlike renditions of pop hits like American Woman and Fly Away. Missing were some of my personal favorite Lenny songs like Again and Rock N' Roll is Dead, and things kind of slowed down for a bit as one song flowed int othe other. But then, Lenny went out with a huge bang and took off the kid gloves, getting the Rock out with a slammin' rendition of Are You Gonna Go My Way that brought the house down. Not bad, not bad.

Then, it was time for the main event. Aerosmith came out with guns blazing. Huge production, awesome opening video intro that highlighted all of their hits, and anticipation that got the crowd HYPED. We were ready to be rocked, and we were. What was awesome? Well, overall, the band looked INTO IT. Steven Tyler was bouncing around like a twelve year old boy after too many pixie sticks - not bad for a man well into middle age. Joe Perry was positively WAILING on his guitar, showing all that he is truly a legend in his own time. And Tom Hamilton, Brad Whitford, and Joey Kramer brought the goods as well. No question, Aerosmith was on their A-game to an extent that they brought a far better energy than they did when I last saw them in 2004 in Hartford, CT. And the energy carried over into many of the songs. Dream On, for one. One of my personal picks for all time greatest rock songs, Dream On ROCKED LIKE NO OTHER, inducing the crowd into a state of near euphoric one-ness with the soul-searing cry of Steven Tyler and the pulse-pounding guitar stylings of Perry. The rest of the crowd-pleasing 90's hits were all kickass as well. Livin' On the Edge - awesome. Cryin' - ruled it. The rest of the bonafide classics were all presented with appropriate aplomb. Sweet Emotion was sweetly emotional. Walk This Way walked the walk. Back in the Saddle was sung loudly and proudly. Seasons of Whither - EPIC. These bonafide Big Ones made the show and made it, like I said, an unforgettablly amazing night.

But speaking of Amazing ... that was just one of the songs that was conspicuous in its absence. No Amazing, no Janie's Got a Gun, no Angel, Love In an Elevator, nothing from Nine Lives, no What It Takes or Eat the Rich ... instead, we got a large helping of Honkin' On Bobo, for one thing. Now I am a fan of Train Kept A Rolling, and I must admit that Aerosmith kicked some blues-y ass with their rendition. But one Honkin On Bobo selection was probably enough. Instead we got multiple new-ish tracks that were kinda underwhelming (at least play the awesome Back Back Train if you're gonan do Bobo stuff, or what about Girls of Summer, the band's newest track from Oh Yeah! and a pretty damn good song ...). We also got a Joe Perry solo song (nice guitar, but, um, no thanks), and overly drawn-out versions of sappy new-school songs like Don't Wanna Miss A Thing. And finally, we got a grand finale of ... DRAW THE LINE?!?! What? Aerosmith does a huge, drawn out version of what is a decent little song at best, sings a quick happy birthday to Brad Whitford, and THAT'S IT? No encore? WHAT?

So yeah, that was a little shocking, and it compelled our party of Aero-Heads to quickly compose our own ride-home playlist to satisfy our cravings for prolonged helpings of Aero-goodness. BUT, despite it all I still felt like it was an AWESOME concert. Sure, some of the song selection was a little questionable. But what we did see was a LEGENDARY band, bringing their A-game, rocking like only they can, and performing a tear-inducingly rocking selection of some of their best songs. The rush of near-rock-nirvana that I felt during songs like Dream On, Living On the Edge, and Sweet Emotion made it one for the record books. We came, we saw, and even if we were int the back row, dammit all, we rocked, rolled, and kicked some ass. YEEAOOWWWWW!

...

Moving On ...

The next few days following the Aerosmith concert were followed, well, by PURE CRAZINESS.
The next day was, afterall, my LAST in the NBC Page Program! My last day working on the NBC lot! The last day of my assignment in Primetime Development! Looking back a few days later, I cannot freaking believe that I am no longer a Page. Being a page has literally been my life for over a year now. Almost everyone I know in LA I met through the page program. It was my foot i nthe door, my start, and not just professionally, but in all kinds of ways big and small. So Thursday, still running with a near-empty tank from the Aerosmith concert and with the knowledge that my parents had arrived in LA from CT late Wed. night ... well, let's just say it was A LOT to take in.

My day Thursday was spent, literally, running around. I had that one day to train Monica, my heir apparent in Primetime Development, in the ways of the Primetime Page ... and it was quite the exhausting endeavor, though it was a huge relief knowing that I'd be able to show her the ropes before I threw her to the wolves, so to speak. So I trained Monica, and also ran down to good ol' GUEST RELATIONS for one last meeting with the PAGES. But first I had to have one FIRST meeting with a man by the name of JAY LENO, who spent a few seconds posing for a souveneir photo with me in honor of my time as a Page coming to a close. I donned my polyester uniform, proudly, ONE LAST TIME for the occasion, then, sadly, turned it in to the Powers That Be. I stuck my nametag in the page lounge ceiling as is tradition, so that future generations of PAgedom can gaze in awe at wonder at Daniel Baram from Bloomfield, CT, and either wonder who that guy was, or, maybe, say "Wow! HE was a Page? Cool!" I said my goodbyes to my comrades in arms (lots of old-school pages were in the house, so it was cool - nice to see people like Akhila and Tina there), raided the Tonight Show green room one final time, closed up shop with Betty, Bill, Christy, Scott, and the rest and then, finito, done, over. I headed back up to my assignment, finsihed playing Obi-Wan-Kenobi, and then, when the Student had Become The Teacher (ok, not quite YET), I was done there as well. And in retrospect, my assignment really was a great experience. I learned A TON and feel it prepared me for anything, and there really were some great people over there who taught me a lot and made my days fun and exciting. So finally, that was it. I was gone.

More than one year of tours, Leno, Ellen, Miller, Carson - was through. More than one year of assignment applications, ticket office, CB, the dreaded ticketboxx of doom. Of parking in Catalina and walking the long walk to the guest relations office. Of seeing Andy from Disney who worked as security on The Tonight Show, of eating at the commisary, of the Days of Our Lives security guard and his crazy stories. Of blackened chicken sandwiches, of lunches with Abby and Sean, or my assignment, of seeing all the new scripts, of working with all of my friends. Of donning the blue polyester. Of hearing Cowboy Troy and Avril before the Tonight Show. Of making fun of the people dancing at Ellen, and of taking them all the the bathroom a million times per show. Of checking my schedule, of getting pulled, of making endless copies and getting lunches. Of Yummy Cupcakes in Burbank and Bacco and Taste Buds runs. Of Wednesday movies and Mondays at Acapulco and Friday night dinners (though I'm sure those will continue). It's been an amazing ride, and hopefully the best is yet to come. But when Thursday evening came and I rove out of that Burbank lot ...

I was a Page no more ...

But wait, no time to breathe!

PARENTAL ALERT - parents in town! All systems go!

So yeah, the next few days was a nonstop marathon of shopping, day-tripping, restauranting, and all around madness from CT to here, paid for and delivered. While there is such a thing as TOO much family fun (who wouldda thunk it?), there were, believe it or not, some highlights:

- trip to San Diego, where I had my first ever visit to the San Diego Zoo.
- LA Farmer's Market
- Kosher dining in LA
- art-gazing at the Getty Center
- dinner at Micelli's near Universal with Liz and Brian
- possible James Gandolfini sighting at Marie Calenders' restaurant
- way too much food

So yes, for the curious, I was bombarded with more advice, life-lessons, and general suggestions concerning my apartment, car, eating-habits, clothing selection, religous preferences, careepath, and overall lifestyle, in a matter of days then most people will receive i na lifetime, resulting in near sensory meltdown. But I guess that just comes with the Baram family territory. What are ya' gonna do?

But yeah, I could have used about a week to recover from THAT, but there was no time, as ...

MONDAY - I started my new job at Universal's new Digital department!

Whoah, reality check - this is a real, actual job! No more internships, page programs, or assignments. This is real, and that alone is somewhat terrifying. What in the blue hell am I doing? Well, I'll tell you - I am working in a new department overseeing the transition of all viable NBC, SciFi, USA, and Bravo content from broadcast TV to I-Tunes. Yes, it's a new digital era, and like I said before, I'm getting in on the ground floor. But speaking of floors, the weird thing is that, as Liz witnessed today, I am VERY LITERALLY alone - just me and my boss - it is JUST the two of us, and no one else, on the ENTIRE SEVENTH FLOOR of the 2160 building East Wing on the Universal lot. How weird is that? It kinda reminds me of where Adam Sandler worked in the movie Punch Drunk Love. So yeah, it's really odd, and I could potentially see myself going crazy, eventually, from being so isolated. Especially coming from Primetime where it was a mile a minute, running around, dealing with a ton of people and personalities every hour of every day. So right now I'm kind of just getting settled in and getting set up and learning the basics of the business, getting familiar with all things I-Tunes and NBC. Of course, transferring all of my security and IT stuff over from NBC is nowhere near as easy as I'd hoped, but hey, I guess there's always going to be that adjustment period. For now I am just seeing where it all takes me, and hoping for the best.

But what a week it's been.

Before I go, some quick TV reviews:

24: Dayum, last night's episode brought the pain! In a good way! Talk about intensity - the President's wife in the motorcade scenario was ridiculous! The drama meter was ratcheted up to eleven, and then, you had PETER WELLER, ROBOCOP himself, showing up as Jack's former mentor. What can I say, this season of 24 has been a nerd paradise in terms of it's casting - with Forever Knight, Samwise Gamgee, and now Buckaroo Banzai his own bad self showing up and (spoilers) ... turning EVIL, nearly killing Jack and bringing that icy cold stare that is half-man, half-machine, and all badass. Fun stuff with Sean Astin going quickly over the edge, and the return of Bill Buchanan. Aaron Pierce going from mild-mannered Secret Service Agent to one-man WRECKING-CREW! Oh yeah - references to George Mason and Nina Myers! Sweeet. And what's with the music the last few weeks? It's been ruling it! Kudos to whoever is composing those cool techno-y beats - they are really adding to the ambiance and yes, GRAVITAS, of the show as of late. And what about next week! Tony returns .. and this time, it's personal! Kim Bauer! Too ... much ... intensity. This show, alst night ,was at the top of it's game. My grade: A

The Simpsons: What the ...? Sunday's episode (taped it) was chock full of old-school style hilarity! Groundskeeper Willie was one of the last fan favorite characters who had yet to receive a spotlight episode, and here it was, finally, ya wee bastard! But this is nu-Simpsons, so it would suck, right? Lo and behold, it was actually pretty funny and clever - a fun and amusing riff on My Fair Lady. Been there, done that? Of course, but hey this was solid and laugter-inducing from start to finish. Best ep in a while and a pleasure to watch. More, please. My grade: A-

Gilmore Girls: I just gotta mention that: tonight's ep featured Sebastian Bach of the 80's hair metal band Skid Row, playing his usual character on the show, who is in a band called Hep Alien with Rory's friend Lane. In the plot, the band broke up, but Sebastian and some others form a new band, and in tonight's ep, they are seen playing a rock version of "Hollaback Girl" at a Bat-Mitzvah party taking place in WEST HARTFORD, CT! How funny is that? This was a fun, eventful episode and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Whatcha gonna do about it? My grade: A -

Oh by the way, yesterday, my first day working on the Universal Studios lot, and I run into none other than Matthew Fox of LOST fame eating his lunch. What he was doing there I don't know, but pretty cool nonetheless.

Alright, that is all for now. What a week. I'm spent.

The past is gone. It went by like dusk to dawn. And I'm out.