Things were a little different for our annual trip to Boston for the Celtics / Magic game. The game was on December 23rd, and due to Rob's Christmas travelling plans he would be driving back from Rhode Island on that day, so we would be meeting in Boston just before the game. That meant no NBA 2K8 on the Xbox 360 before driving down, no stop at Chicago Dogs for their awesome veggie dogs, and that I would be stopping at Nuggets by myself. This trip I was actually a litte disappointed with what Nuggets had to offer. I wasn't left holding a stack of vinyl after browsing, and having to make a decision on what I needed to put back to stay within my budget. Instead, I only found three records that were worth buying, and then one of those I bought just because it was in great shape, and had a $3.00 price tag. I also bought a Mercyful Fate CD at Nuggets. When I got out to the car, I noticed that it had a saw cut in the spine of the jewel case. Fuck, I hate cut-outs.
Raven - Rock Until You Drop : Raven's first and classic record. I was really excited to find it. It was an Italian pressing and in really great shape. Later I realized that it didn't come with a lyric sheet, and I was left wondering if one was missing, or if the Italian press didn't come with one. Now I'll need to find and original pressing and make sure I get the insert.
New Model Army - Thunder and Consolation : I love this record. New Model Army play a great style of Rock with a slight punk twist and a political slant. This album is the high point of their career. These songs are full of anger and passion...such emotion is put in to them that at times it gives me chills.
Ratt - Out of the Cellar : This was the one that I bought because it was cheap. I remember buying the original copy when it was released. I had spent the night at my Aunt's house, who lived intown Portland at the time. We took a walk around the city, had lunch and she gave me the opportunity to stop at one of the music stores, and she would buy me something. This was a big deal for me! At that age, all my record shopping was limited to the Mall, and never made it into Portland to shop at the "good" record stores. I was still kind of young and too new to buying music to really grasp the opportunity that was presented to me. I often wonder what other records were available at this store while I was there...back when vinyl was the dominant medium for music. In any event, I walked away with a cassette of this Ratt album. I loved it. We went back to her apartment and I popped the tape into my Walkman, put my headphones on, and just tuned everything out. Great memories.
After my disappointing trip to Nuggets, I took off for the Garden to meet up with Rob. He caught me as I was pulling into the parking lot, and we took off for our traditional trip to Hooters for supper. We were both shocked to find that it had closed up. First Krispy Kreme's and now Hooters? Is nothing sacred?!? We walked up to Fanuel Hall and ate at Bertucci's instead. Damn, I love broccoli calzones. For the game, the Celtics did not disappoint and keeping with tradition beat Orlando in Boston, thus avenging their first loss of the season. I really love our annual trip down to Boston to watch them take on the Magic, but with Rob as a big Orlando fan, I'm forever grateful that Boston wins each year. I have a feeling that if Orlando wins, he'd be reminding me of that sting for the entire ride home.
Man, I was really hoping for the gold pressing of the new Get The Most record. This is the bands demo, finally pressed to vinyl and it was released on React Records, which is Aram's new label. In true collector-geek fashion, it was pressed in very limited numbers for the three different colors. By the time that I saw that the vinyl was available for pre-order, the gold pressing was sold out. I had spoken to Aram at the Edge Day show and he had let me know that he would hook me up when the record was released, so even though the gold vinyl was sold out when I placed my order, I still had a little hope that I may find it when I received the package in the mail. Oh well, it didn't happen, so my next mission is to continually search eBay, waiting or one to show up for bid. Still, I feel good about the two that I did get, limited to 150 on red and 250 on black. 
