Rams

Yes, there was live music Sunday night besides BRUUUUCE . Contributor Jeremy Trucker reviews the Blue October show at Rams Head Live. Blue October's Sunday night show at Ram's Head live began with an acoustic set by the band's lead singer and songwriter Justin Furstenfeld.  Striking an Aaron Lewis-esque look in baggy jeans and a baseball cap, Furstenfeld strummed a few open chords and added an electronic drumbeat for portions of...

Bakari has always done a good job of getting as much as possible out of the Rams, and this winter he guided them to the Baltimore City title, a share of the Class 3A East region crown and a tie for fourth at the state meet. Digital Harbor won the city for the second time in five years and tied Hereford for first in a tough region. After finishing fourth in Class 2A last year, the Rams moved up to 3A but didn't miss a beat. Bakari is known for being one of the more vocal and motivational coaches, always standing right by the track and cheering on his athletes during races.

Reporter Matthew Hay Brown took a break from covering military affairs and national security to review the Psychedelic Furs' show at Rams Head on Stage Monday night. Is there anyone having more fun at a Psychedelic Furs show than frontman Richard Butler? His lyrical sophistication and that buzzsaw voice have always given the band's work a certain gravity, but Butler spent so much of their performance in Annapolis on Monday hopping, grinning, beaming that the main impression he conveyed was of a guy having the time of his life.

At this point, it seems pretty likely that the St. Louis Rams, who have former No. 1 pick Sam Bradford at quarterback, will trade the No. 2 overall pick in April's draft to a QB-needy team. A bunch of teams will likely show interest, jacking up the price for the pick and giving the Rams enough incentive to move out of that prime draft position. So which team can give St. Louis the biggest haul for the right to draft Robert Griffin III? The Cleveland Browns, who have gotten uneven play from Colt McCoy, have given mixed messages about their plans -- it shouldn't surprise anyone that they are playing coy -- but they appear to have the best package of draft picks to make a deal happen.

The Edgewood Rams (17-3 overall, 12-0 Chesapeake ) wrapped up their upper division schedule with a 63-47 road win over the C. Milton Wright Mustangs (10-9 overall, 7-5 Chesapeake) on Friday. Troy Anderson and Van Rolle led the Rams in scoring with 12 points apiece, while Detrick Matthews had 10 points in the victory. Mychal Stefanides had 17 points for CMW, and teammate Will Hazelton had 13 points. The Rams will take on Patterson Mill for the UCBAC championship Wednesday at Harford Tech.

If you could care less about this year's Grammys (wouldn't blame you there) or the Allen Stone show at the 8x10 isn't your thing, there's the Umphrey's McGee show at Rams Head Live on Sunday night. I've made the mistake of calling Umphrey's a "jam band" - a label for bands I say I'm allergic to because I never got into Phish. But I have persistent friends (the same friends that drop whatever they're doing whenever Umphrey's McGee is in the area) that told me they weren't Phish-lite.

Third Eye Blind performed Monday night at a sold-out Rams Head Live. Frequent Midnight Sun contributor Jay Trucker has this review: As with its music, there is nothing particularly ornate about Third Eye Blind's stage show, which features a gigantic block-lettered Third Eye Blind banner and a small oriental rug at center stage. The band, which features former "TRL" heartthrob Stephan Jenkins, sounded well-rehearsed. Although Jenkins is the sole original member performing in the current lineup, his bandmates sounded professional and seemed content to defer the small, carpeted center of the stage to Jenkins.    The sound at Rams Head further garbled the already obtuse delivery of Jenkins' vocals, but that didn't seem to bother the sold-out crowd on hand for a Monday night show, as they sang along to every “whoa” “woo” and occasional falsetto chorus from the first line of opener “Thanks a Lot” through the set's end. Casual fans of Third Eye Blind may be surprised by the number of hits the California alterna-pop group have in its catalogue.

While 6-foot-3 All-Metro center Bri Jones lay on the court with a stinger that briefly left her without feeling on her right side Friday, Aberdeen's chances of holding onto the No. 1 ranking against No. 2 Digital Harbor appeared tenuous. Not to the Eagles. Aberdeen was clinging to a 22-15 lead when Jones walked to the bench with 2:01 left in the second quarter. She sat for much of third quarter, but it didn't matter. The Eagles kicked their game into another gear after the break and started running away with a 67-38 victory at the Basketball Academy Lake Clifton.

When Elton John played 1st Mariner Arena last year, his first Baltimore performance in more than a decade, more than 12,000 fans turned out. Sade, opening her first American concert tour in just as many years, drew an audience just as big later in the summer, and it became 1st Mariner's highest-grossing show of 2011. The demand to see pop singer Robyn, who was playing her only regional show at Rams Head Live , was so large that some bus companies set up trips from Washington to Baltimore for the night.

In a tight basketball game featuring an All-Metro forward on each side, most fans looked to one of them to make the difference. Digital Harbor's A'Lexus Harrison and Dunbar's Michelle Wright led their teams to a one-point difference going into the final 35 seconds Friday night, but Harrison would grab a couple rebounds, hit two free throws and make a steal to seal a 40-37 victory for the visiting No. 2 Rams. Wright, a powerful 5 feet 9, was fouled as she hit a layup to pull the No. 11 Poets within 38-37 with 35 seconds to go in the Baltimore City Division I game.