I've got a bit of a backlog of shows that I've been to that are worth mentioning...

FEB 2022 - The Tedeschi Trucks Band at the Capital Theater in Port Chester, NY - IMHO, TTB might be one of THE BEST live bands in the U.S. today!  Derek Trucks' guitar playing transcends the whole notion of guitar heroes and offers a transcendent musical experience.  And his wife Susan Tedeschi is a phenomenal singer with incredible soul.  Their band?  Completely killer!  That's why one of my next entries is...

FEB 2023 - The Tedeschi Trucks Band at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN - Going to a show at the Ryman is something that any serious fan of American music should do in their lifetime.  The venue has such amazing natural acoustics that there really isn't a bad seat in the house.  And TTB didn't disappoint!  Nashville is an experience unto itself that you can try to convey, but being there is the only way to really understand what it's like to be there.  The nickname "Music City" is well deserved, and you can find DOZENS of bands playing at countless venues on Broadway in downtown Nashville.  Hell, Derek Trucks ducked out of the Ryman during TTB's intermission to sit in on Billy Strings gig at the Bridgestone Arena a block away, and then came back to play the second set!

JULY 2023 - Louise Post at The Bowery Ballroom in NYC.  For my money, the Bowery Ballroom might be one of the best clubs in NYC today.  The sound is great, there are no bad sightlines, and you feel genuinely connected with the artist.  As for Louise Post?  People know her for Veruca Salt, and she is an amazing singer and songwriter in her own right.  I had seen Veruca Salt at least 4 times back in the 90's and they crushed it every time.  And even now?  She's got some mileage, but she still brings the intensity.  And her new music is pretty powerful.

DEC 2024 - The Black Crowes at the Capital Theater in Port Chester, NY - This venue truly is one of the hidden gems of the NY tristate area, and a lot of touring bands prefer playing here.  And if there's an artist that I REALLY like that's touring the area, the Cap is the venue where I try to see them.  The Robinson brothers are back!  And they're doing it right.  Their newest album is solid, and the live show was great.  They added in a couple of tasty covers in the process, and they even tossed in a Christmas tune!  Plus, they had New Orleans Funk royalty opening for them - George Porter Jr., of The Meters.  The man is in his 70's and still killing it.


And then I'm thinking about one of the earlier concerts I attended - it was October 1995, and Oasis had just released their second album - '(What's The Story?) Morning Glory' a week earlier.  I got to see them at The Roseland Ballroom in NYC!  A step above a club, but not quite a theater yet.  A lot of rock luminaries were sitting in the VIP section - I might have spotted Ringo there.  And it was a big ******* deal!  The show was amazing, and the first time I had ever seen the band live.  I would see them another couple of times over the next few years, but had no comprehension of just how big they would really get.  And then the battling between Noel and Liam Gallagher came to a head and the band broke up.  I wound up following Noel's career as Liam seemed like an unbearable *******, and it seemed unlikely that they would ever reunite.  But amazingly the brother reconciled, and Oasis have played their first show in 16 years in Cardiff, Wales.  From what I've seen online?  They were really ******* good!  And now I'm torn about trying to get tickets to see them when they get to New York.  I typically don't like stadium shows - the sound can be off, and the number of people can be overwhelming.  But for this?  I might have to go!

It looks like the guys from Last Figure Standing are preparing for their 2025 tournament!  It kicks off on Saturday, August 2nd - no doubt for the initial character submissions.



Looking at the Top 12 candidates that made the 2024 finals, here they are:

-Arleil Schous - 2024 Tournament Winner
-Wrecker (The Bad Batch)
-Anakin Skywalker (Revenge Of The Sith)
-Baze Malbus (Rogue One)
-C-3PO (A New Hope)
-Luthen Rael (Andor)
-Crosshair (The Bad Batch - Clone Force 99)
-Snowtrooper (The Empire Strikes Back)
-Qimir / The Stranger (The Acolyte)
-Asajj Ventress (The Clone Wars)
-Obi-Wan Kenobi (Revenge Of The Sith)
-Tech (The Bad Batch)


THREE of these figures have been announced or released since the 2024 tournament:

-Crosshair (The Bad Batch - Clone Force 99)
-Snowtrooper (The Empire Strikes Back)
-Asajj Ventress (The Clone Wars)


As for the other 9, where do we stand?  Currently, the YakFace TVC rumor list has strong rumors indicating that these are pending in the near future:

-Anakin Skywalker (Revenge Of The Sith)
-C-3PO (A New Hope)

The recent release of the Darth Vader (Ahsoka) released in "The Journey of Anakin Skywalker" Special Action Figure 3-Pack is a very strong indicator that a repaint of that figure to create a ROTS version of Anakin seems to be in the works.  And the RETURN TO TATOOINE campaign seems to present a good opportunity for Hasbro to offer a new C-3PO.

As for the rest?  The YakFace TVC rumor list doesn't disappoint, because there are entries for media without specifically named characters that could indicate as many as 6 contestants from the 2024 tourney could be possible.

2 x slots for ANDOR characters
1 x slot for THE ACOLYTE
2 x slots for A NEW HOPE
1 x slot for REVENGE OF THE SITH
2 x slots for THE BAD BATCH (1 deluxe, 1 mainline)


Does that necessarily mean that those slots are assigned to Luthen, The Stranger, Arleil Schous, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Wrecker and Tech? NO.  But the possibility is there.  A lot of this will hinge on what gets announced in 3 weeks at the Hasbro panel at SDCC.  But it's entirely possible that much of the field from the 2024 Last Figure Standing tournament could be cleared in the remainder of 2025.

Ken Colley - Admiral Piett in TESB and ROTJ - passed on Monday, June 30th at the age of 87.

Looking ahead to SDCC 2025 as it'snow 5 weeks away, and I'm wondering if Hasbro is going to shift the way they conduct the SDCC panel this year? Last year they were still offering the Pipeline Reveals - and 2 of those that were announced in June of '24 are still yet to be officially revealed. But per Hasbro they decided to taper off the Pipeline Reveals since they seemed to diminish the excitement level for announcements in general.

This is what got revealed for TVC last year at SDCC:
-3 TVC mainline figures [Imperial Jet Trooper, Thrawn (Ahsoka), Ahsoka Tano (Peridea)]
-1 TVC deluxe figure - Cobb Vanth
-1 creature pack - Mando and Blurrg
-1 playset - Armorer's Forge
-8 TVC mainline figures announced as Pipeline Reveals.
-Shortly before SDCC Hasbro announced the Mandalorian Shriek Hawk Training Team multipack

Given the shift in how Hasbro is announcing things? I suspect that there will be more announcements than last year.  It's fair to expect Hasbro to finally reveal the new Han Solo and Chewbacca that were pipelined a year ago.

Yakface also has 4 named characters on their current rumor list, with another 17 entries for mainline figures, 3 slotted for deluxe figures, as well as a couple of multipacks. I think we could see anywhere from 6 - 8 mainline figures announced, a deluxe figure and a multipack announced for TVC. I'm also not ruling out the possibility that Hasbro could make at least a couple of pipeline reveals, but those would be an exception to the shift in the way Hasbro is announcing things.

There was a limit of 3 per customer on these sets.  I ordered 2 for myself after getting shut out the first time around.

Same thing for me, Rob.  The bot detector didn't like my laptop, but the app worked fine.

It's odd how vehicle prices have fluctuated over the past couple of years, and the sticker shock that seems to be hitting a number of collectors.

The Mandalorian's N1 Starfighter had a retail price of $131.99.  It was a 2023 release, but I think a good number of collectors benefitted from some sale pricing on this.  And it's Mando's ship!

But then there's the E-Wing.  That was a late 2024 release and priced at $99.99.  Granted, it looks to be smaller than the TIE Advanced, but $40 smaller?

Go further back and we've got some Red 5 X-Wing re-releases as well as the Blue Leader X-Wing.  Merrick's X-Wing was $105.99 for a repaint of an existing vehicle.

It seems like pricing is a little bit all over the place here.