The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham News and Links for Wednesday, June 28

good morning! Please be kind as we all navigate this post-Emerson hoddle life of ours. What a coincidence it happens to fall on the day your hoddler-in-chief recaps his two nights watching Dead and Company at Citi Field.

That’s right – two nights! As you all may not remember, your HIC threw out a good handful of songs he wanted to hear in his final two shows watching Dead and Co. And guess what gang? He got a lot of them: Brokedown Palace, China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider, St Stephen, Dear Mr Fantasy -> Hey Jude, Dancin’ in the Streets and even a Watchtower!

Fitzie’s track of the day, part one: All Along the Watchtower, by the Grateful Dead

Every time I watch Dead & Company they seem to only get better, and it makes me wonder where the music goes from here. When they played Let It Grow to close out Set One during the first night, I thought to myself, “There’s no way they can be finished with this. No way!”

The boys were very kind to us with a jam-packed first set. I admittedly do not always like a Shakedown Street live version, but it seems the band finally found their groove with it. And while Set Two seemed a little choppy with the transions (minus China-Rider), that St Stephen was still a sight to hear.

But the standout performance of the night was Let It Grow with an outrageous extended jam.

Fitzie’s track of the day, part two: Let It Grow, by the Grateful Dead

A few years ago I saw Dead & Co for the first time at Saratoga Springs. And in the two years after they had played Help On The Way -> Slipknot!, I finally got my Franklin’s Tower to close out the world’s longest jam.

A standalone Franklin’s Tower? How odd! But this was Citi Field, and the boys were throwing out the big guns.

And does it get any bigger than Dear Mr Fantasy -> Hey Jude, a one-two your HIC has desperately wanted to hear? How about a Deal to close out Set One?

But even with those heavy hitters, it was Mama Tried that I loved the most. A seriously unexpected song to follow Frank.

A couple weeks before the concert, I was telling a buddy of mine there were a couple songs that would certainly bring tears to my eyes.

Those two songs were Morning Dew and Brokedown Palace, the latter being one of your HIC’s favourite ‘sad songs’.

And it was an emotionally charged evening for your hoddler-in-chief, who needed a cathartic and cleansing evening. So I was very grateful to get a Brokedown Palace, to let the emotions pour out and to let the tears roll.

Fitzie’s track of the day, part three: Brokedown Palace, by the Grateful Dead

And now for your links:

Italian football federation bans number 88 to fight against anti-Semitism

Wilfried Zaha and rapper Stormzy to become joint owners of AFC Croydon

Andrea Pirlo appointed as manager of Sampdoria