Between this, Pineapple Express, and Fist Foot Way, Danny McBride has made me a fan.

I was lucky enough to grab a pair of tickets to Dan Auerbach’s Friday night show at Metro last week right before it sold out. The Black Keys singer’s new solo album Keep It Hid is one of the most consistent and overall satisfying pieces of music that I’ve listened to in recent memory. Auerbach pretty much played the album in its entirety.

The bluesy-rock stuff (When I Left The Room, The Prowl, Street Walkin’) is great, but my favorite songs are the quieter, more soulful numbers (Trouble Weighs A Ton, Whispered Words, When The Night Comes).

Here’s some video I took during the show - one of each.

What’s good:

- Rorschach, The Comedian & Dr. Manhattan, nailed all three.

- Overall mood of the story - they captured the sadness that lingers over every character perfectly

- General detail of costumes, locations, etc. - everything is pretty much how I remember it, very impressive

Not so good:

- Nite Owl & Ozymandias - I’m nit picking here, but I think they could have been better cast. The actor who played the latter lacked the gravity of his character.

Overall: It’s fantastic. I didn’t have a problem with the change to the ending. It makes sense. I understand why they did it that way. It’s a tidy way to conclude, even though the original ending would’ve been a more visually gratifying way to finish.

I enjoy a regular diet of late night talk shows. Dave has been my favorite for his mad interviewing skillz. Conan’s comedy bits were without question, the best. I can only take Craig in small doses. He thinks he’s a lot more charming than he really is…and I don’t even bother with Jay.

Curiosity led me to watch the first two installments of Jimmy Fallon’s Late Night.

My first reaction: not bad, not that good, but still not bad.

What I liked: The Roots as the house band. Seriously. What a great choice for a house band…and I love that he seems to be using them in the comedy bits. Also, I love Fallon’s easy going, likable demeanor. His interview with DeNiro was a little stiff, but he was great with Timberlake, Fey and Bon Jovi. It seems like this will be the show’s strength.

What needs improvement: The comedy. Outside of the first night’s slow jam Obama stimulus thing, everything has kind of fallen flat. The internet video of the day, $10 to lick things, the facebook bit - I hope this isn’t his best.

Overall: Decent start. It’ll hopefully get better. It’s filmed in NYC - a mecca of live music. If they’re not able to consistently book an interesting variety of music acts, it would be a shocker.

I love how completely ridiculous 24 is, and how far they go with the whole “suspension of disbelief” thing, but after last night, c’mon!!!

OK…just a few things.

number one: the White House is easily entered by an underwater cavern

number two: The government does a lousy job of vetting White House staff. A terrorist conspirator has been working there waiting for the day he got to shut down the security lasers (that he has easy access to) that give entry to the attackers coming in from the cavern.

number three: What’s up with the level of security being offered by the Secret Service these days?!! Once the bad guys enter the White House, the Secret Service guys just stand around in the hallways like they’re waiting to get shot.

My excitement level is pretty high over the pair of shows Wilco is going to play at the Pabst in April. Thanks to a friend who has connections, I’ll be in the tenth row the first night and a few rows back the next. My first exposure to the band was during the summer of 2000 when Bryan, Jim and I saw them open for REM. They didn’t make much of an impression on me at the time. Since then I’ve grown to love a lot of their music.

Connie and I flew from Chicago to London a few years back. Wilco was starting their European tour at the same time. The band flew over on the same flight I was on. I didn’t know this until I went to the taxi line outside of Heathrow. Jeff Tweedy was standing right next to me. He’s wearing a White Sox ball cap. Instead of being all, “Hey Tweedy!! Wilco!! Wooooooooo!!!”, I decided to strike up a little small talk to pass the time. I said to him, “nice hat - are you a Sox fan?”. He said, “no, it’s just a hat”, then turned and walked away from me.

It was disappointing, but I’ve gotten over it. They put on an amazing show last time they were through town (Oct. 07). I’m really looking forward these Pabst shows.

Rourke Spirit Awards acceptance