In all three visits, we’ve stayed in Pacific City — cool little town. We did an Airbnb the first time, then stayed at Headlands Lodge the past two times. It’s a really cool, kinda swanky spot right on the beach. The staff, food, and everything has been great both times. We love it.

This trip, we made our first visit to Depoe Bay, which is just OMG beautiful. We had lunch there one day at a spot right on the water, then walked around a bit and poked our heads inside a couple little shops. It was a lovely day. We also stopped at a place nearby called Boiler Bay, and did some whale watching from the shoreline.

We’re both ready to go back like…tomorrow! But we’re now also thinking the Oregon Coast is tops on our list of retirement places. I don’t know what happened on this visit, but something clicked. We just love it.

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It was a good show, but probably my least favorite of the three.

They’re doing a farewell tour of sorts, but I think only Jonathan Cain has officially said he’s done. I don’t follow all the gossip, but Arnel Pineda allegedly didn’t want to do this tour until he was reminded that they had contractual obligations to fulfill. So there was a kind of weird vibe going on if you were aware of all that. I’m betting most people weren’t — they were just there to enjoy the show, and enjoy it they did.

I don’t know this is related to the rumors around Arnel, but he didn’t sound as strong as the first two times I saw them. The social media critics are saying he’s lost his voice and sounds like shit, which isn’t true — dude can still belt! But he was definitely struggling to sing like he used to, especially the upper registers where so many of their songs live.

The band promised die-hards a lot of deep cuts and songs from the ’70s on this tour, which is awesome for the die-hards. I’m not in that group, so I didn’t know a bunch of the songs, which is fine. Nothing wrong with hearing “new” old stuff. It was also a good opp to walk around the arena and get some pics from different angles.

So that’s three shows this month — Springsteen, John Waite/John Cafferty, and Journey. Nothing booked until October, but I’ve got my eyes on some shows in June/July/August that I think will pan out.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention, got ANOTHER high-five from Arnel as he jogged around the arena, so that’s two shows in a row he’s high-fived me. Clearly we’re now besties.

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NGL, I was a little nervous going into this show. It was my second time seeing a gig at the Emerald Queen Casino. The first time I saw a show there, I came down with my first bout of COVID while seeing Night Ranger. :/ So before, during, and after the show last night, I found myself covering my mouth and nose, turning away from people, etc. I think I made it through just fine.

The show itself was super fun, a real trip back to the ’80s for me. There was a stretch back then when I would’ve said John Waite was in my top 4-5 artists overall. Obviously, everyone knows “Missing You,” but that album, No Brakes, is filled with bangers. “Tears” and “Restless Heart” are still regulars in my Spotify rotation.

I also loved “Every Step of the Way” from the next album he did, Mask of Smiles. And, of course, he has a ton of hits from his days with The Babys and Bad English.

That reminds me — funny story! I’m hanging out in the lobby area before the show. People are milling around, getting food and drinks, checking out the merch table, etc. Two women walk past me and I hear one of them explaining the different bands John was in back in the day. She correctly said he was in The Babys. She incorrectly said he was in Modern English!! OMG, I laughed so hard inside and debated if I should say something. (I elected not to.)

Now, as for John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, before and after Eddie and the Cruisers, they were mainstays on Philly and New Jersey radio.

No one else knows this, but I have a super soft spot in my heart for “Tender Years.” I don’t know why. It’s such an ’80s love song — so simple and innocent. And the incredible sax solos!! A year or two ago, I went down one of those YouTube rabbit holes and must’ve listened to a couple live versions of the song for an hour straight.

So, I was determined to get a live version of my own that I could watch whenever I want. It came out great.

It was all part of a super fun night in Tacoma reliving my high school days in the early and mid-80s with the two Johns — Waite and Cafferty.

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That’s pretty cool because I saw it, too! With my wonderful wife at my side, and our awesome neighbors on the other side of the arena — hi R&T!

It was a mix of church, rally, revival, and rock show — everything my eyes needed to see, my ears needed to hear, and my heart needed to feel. I think the only show where I cried more was a U2 show a few months after my dad died in 2015.

Best of all, I got to hear my all-time fave Bruce song, “Land of Hope and Dreams.”

Yes, this train carries saints and sinners
This train carries losers and winners
This train carries whores and gamblers
This train carries lost souls
I said, this train carries broken-hearted
This train, thieves and sweet souls departed
This train carries fools and kings
Oh, this train, all aboard

I missed that song by one night when I saw him in 2023. He didn’t play it at the Portland show I saw, but did play it the next night in Seattle. (Note to friends and family: I want that song played at my funeral. Loudly. All aboard!)

Dude is 76 yrs old. I don’t know how he does it. I’m just glad he does.

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Cari and I just spent a full week in Las Vegas, which is not something either of us would normally volunteer to do. But months ago, when she suggested I join her for RE/MAX’s annual international conference in February, I instantly knew the Eagles were playing more shows at the Sphere, so I was all in! And that was only the tip of the iceberg on a fun week of mixing business and pleasure.

First half of the week was business. We both attended RE/MAX’s R4 conference and got to hang with some of our favorite local RE/MAX-ers. I heard James Clear and an incredible woman named Vanessa Van Edwards speak.

Cari had a bunch of business things going on early in the week, which meant I had enough free time to go do some stuff on my own…like SEEING DEF LEPPARD as part of their residency at Caesar’s Palace!!

This was my second time seeing them. I think I preferred the stadium show a couple years ago, but this was still terrific. This venue seemed almost too small for them, and the sound wasn’t great for the first few songs.

I sat next to three ladies — two were about my age, and seemed like they were sisters. I think the third may have been their mom, who must’ve been 80-90 yrs old and was TOTALLY rocking out. She was so cool!

After the real estate and Def Leppard portion of the week, two of the best people in the world drove up from Arizona to hang with us for the second half of the week — Mat and Holly!!! Somehow, we hadn’t seen them face-to-face since 2017. So there was a lot of catching up, hanging out, shopping, eating great meals, and a little gambling.

We capped that off with the Eagles concert at the Sphere on Friday night, which was fantastic. Cari and I saw the Eagles about 18 months ago at the Sphere, and I preferred this one a bit more. They had a bunch of new visuals and added “End of the Innocence” — one of my all-time fave songs.

Before the concert, we paid a visit to the Eagles experience inside the Palazzo — it’s a really cool collection of memorabilia and mini-versions of the Troubador where Don Henley and Glenn Frey first met, and a “Hotel California” on Sunset Blvd. Cari and I didn’t get to see it in 2024 because the F1 race was approaching and had taken over that space.

It’s been a while since I’ve traveled anywhere and stayed a full week. Pretty exhausted at this point and glad to be home after…ahem…taking it to the limit.

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And I haven’t worried about any of the games since. It just felt inevitable.

And tonight, they became Super Bowl champs. Ta-da!!!!

Go Hawks!!!!

The post I Knew It appeared first on Matt McGee.

So I figure if I tell you about it, maybe that’ll do the trick.

IIRC, it was the summer of 2023 when I saw a tweet that went something like this:

“Note to all the bros who try to look cool by playing air drums on their car dashboard while they’re sitting at a stop light: You’re not impressing women. We think you look like an idiot.”

She sure seemed angry. And, of course, you can imagine the likes and comments and retweets from everyone agreeing.

That’s lived rent-free in my brain because I play air drums in my car not only at stop lights, but while I’m driving, while I’m in my garage…anytime I’m in my car.

I play air guitar.

I sing at the top of my lungs. (Badly, but I sing!)

I motion as if I’m on stage singing to a stadium full of fans.

I came close to replying to her, but decided hell nawww.

But if I did reply?? What I would’ve told her goes something like this:

I don’t do any of that to look cool. I do it knowing full well that I look like a fool.

And guess what? I don’t care!!

I do it because I love music.

I do it because I came three seconds from dying a few years ago and I know that any song I hear could be the last song I hear.

I do it because I wake up every morning trying to make every day the best day of my life in case it’s the last day of my life, and music is damn well gonna be a big part of that.

I would’ve told her that it’s awfully arrogant to sit at a stop light and assume that the “bro” enjoying music in the next car is doing it to impress her.

Because if that bro is me, I ain’t trying to impress anyone. I’m just trying to be happy and enjoy life.

(And as long as I’m not hurting you, why shit on something that makes me happy?)

If everyone at the stop light wants to sit there looking straight ahead, expressionless, waiting for the light to change…hey, go for it. You do you. And let me do me.

(Whew. Thanks. Now let’s see if I’ve kicked that tweet out of my brain! )

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2025 was the year that I…

Got back in the ocean for the first time since my accident. Not actual swimming — far too cold on the Oregon Coast in May for that. Just let the water come up a few inches above my ankles. It was really emotional, but good. I think I still have water issues, but y’know…baby steps.

Helped Cari have the best year of her real estate career. Y’all have no idea how proud I am of her. There’s like 900-1000 agents in this area (some say it’s more like 1100-1200), and she’s in the Top 10 overall — and most of the others in the Top 10 get clients fed to them by local builders. She’s built an amazing business and has awesome clients who absolutely love her. It’s the coolest thing to see, and be part of as her marketing dude.

Had the best year of my business‘s young life, too.

Finally met my half-sister, Kristin, and half-brother, John! (My biological mom, Marianne, was their mom.) John replied to a message I sent him on Ancestry, and we got on Zoom back in February — Kris and John, Cari, and me. It was nerve-racking at first, but I felt comfortable with them pretty quickly. They’ve been a huge help answering medical questions, since I’ve never been able to tell a doctor anything about my family’s medical history. Best of all, we’ve stayed in touch, they’re super cool, and we’re all hoping to meet in person in the new year.

Went with Cari and Sean for a great weekend of three Mariners games in 3 days in August, then finally got to see them win the AL West for the first time since 2001 in September, and ALSO went to Seattle for one of their playoff games in October. Can’t wait for next season!!

Saw 18 different artists at 8 concerts.

Saw Hamilton in its original home theater on Broadway AND with Leslie Odom Jr. back in his role as Aaron Burr. Incredible!!

Had a wonderfully nostalgic visit to the last Blockbuster store in Bend. So much fun!

There ya go. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you!! But I say that with a bit of melancholy tonight because I have some dear friends who are going through difficult times right now.

Life is short, gang. Squeeze everything you can out of every day you’re here. Gonna keep doing my best to do that in 2026, and I hope you will, too.

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For just about all of their pre-college childhoods, Cari and I forged ahead, anyway, making or buying a full turkey dinner and asking them to eat as much as they could each year. Then I think it was right before or maybe during their college years that we finally gave up and started doing non-traditional meals on Thanksgiving. (I remember one year we ordered pizza the night before and waited until Thanksgiving to eat it!)

This year, our non-traditional meal was spaghetti and meatballs…but not just any spaghetti and meatballs. The meatballs came from Francesco’s Hole in the Wall, a Chicago-area eatery and now sold frozen at our local Costco. We really like them.

But the star of the show was the spaghetti!

When Cari and I were in New York City earlier this month, we did a tour of Chelsea Market. In one of the shops, I stumbled upon Pasta Setaro — an authentic pasta imported from Italy. Even though we didn’t get a taste during the tour, it looked really good and the name stuck with me.

When we got home, I found it for sale online — not cheap, but I decided to give it a shot, anyway.

TBH, I was worried that it would taste the same as store-bought pasta, but we all agreed that it was better! It had a more natural taste and a slightly different texture. We haven’t tried the rigatoni yet, but the spaghetti was excellent.

While I was researching this pasta online, I found this CNN video from last year — turns out Setaro is the last artisanal pasta producer in what used to be Italy’s pasta capital. Industrial producers put all the other pasta makers out of business.

That was the icing on the cake … (the sauce on the pasta?) … learning a little more about where our Italian Thanksgiving meal really began.

The post An Italian Thanksgiving at Casa McGee appeared first on Matt McGee.

14,658 days between my first time seeing an artist live and latest time seeing them live. That’s to say, I went 40 years, 1 month, and 17 days between my first time seeing Bryan Adams (Oct. 5, 1985 – I reviewed the show for my high school paper) and the latest time seeing him (last night – Nov. 21, 2025).

The first time I went to see him, I was trying to impress a girl. (Didn’t work. She dumped me soon after.)

The second time I went to see him, in 2023, it was because I had almost died less than a year earlier and was doing #MyYearOfConcerts, where I went to see anyone and everyone I could — carpe diem, life is short, etc.

Last night, I went to see him because DAMN, he puts on a great and super fun show, and dude has decades of hits that he plays like his life depends on it. I’ll go see him again and again as long as he’s playing.

Also got to see my first-ever Pat Benatar show, which is now billed as Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo (her husband of 43 years and musical partner), although Cari knows Pat as “my former customer at the stationery/gift shop in Malibu.”

Anyway…it was very cool to see them interact on stage, you could really sense how much they love and admire each other. They opened for Bryan and were terrific. Her voice hasn’t lost a thing.

Oh, the old record for longest time between first and latest show belonged to….you probably guessed it….U2.

First U2 show: April 24, 1985
Latest U2 show: Dec. 16, 2023

That’s 14,116 days (38 years, 7 months, 23 days) between first and latest. But now it’s the second-longest time between first and latest concerts.

No more shows planned for this year, but 2026 is already looking great. LFG!!

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