The Seedless Scuppernong

Jason Isbell at the Borderline - London

Music,

And I haven't posted in a while.  But I caught Jason Isbell, formerly of the Drive-By Truckers at the Borderline tonight.  And I have to say, though I wasn't the biggest fan when Jason's solo album came out, I understand where he is going and, as a fan of the music, am enriched by it.  The 400 Watt was solid grounding a good vibe feel.  And Isbell came across to me totally different tonight, someone I could relate to, someone you went to high school with who was putting out their ideas and emotions that just so happened to be rock n' roll.  And that was the difference.  The DBT are awesome, nothing disputing that.  But when I heard Isbell do his numbers at the Koko in '06, 'Dress Blues' floored me then still to say the least, they were a part of the badass DBT.  For better or for worse, the depth of the songs he wrote also felt tied in a myth - a myth most any DBT song could create (hey, and I love them).  But tonight it was raw.  And it was great because I don't think the studio effort, as incredibly acclaimed as it is, gets it across - especially when juxtaposed with DBT.  A North Carolinian and someone who loves North Carolina I've been living in London since '05 and it really made me miss home tonight.  Jason's lyrics are earnest and his demeanor is such that he could be your thoughtful buddy from high school.

So I enjoyed it.  And I enjoyed seeing the audience react.  Folks loved it, though no one seemed to get a rise when 'don't sing with a fake British accent' belted through the Marshall stack.  Nor did they get the 'I'm from Alabama where we are all related - I guess we might have to have a queen' tongue in cheek joke.  But I have to go back to how much I personally appreciate the earnestness of the lyrics - again not the 'Southern' myth but something anyone could construct a Southern myth out of.  Two Brits standing in front of me were cynically harping on the focus on small towns rife within Jason's lyrics.  I stepped in and said you can't escape your home just as you can't escape your crazy relative, everyone has them.  Home is 18 years of your life (to which, of course, these guys said 16 with their A levels and all) but the picture is still the same.  I'd like to believe home is home to everyone, encompassing those who made it home.  Of course, as evidenced by tonights conversation, that isn't the case but I have to thank Isbell's lyrics for bringing home to me tonight.

SS

US Air + Delta: Is a Bigger Bird Better? Probably So

The majors are talking M&A again because they have to.  US Air's offer to Delta ($4B cash, ~$4B equity) is advantageous to both companies' creditors and shareholders (although not as much as it could be, more on that below) not so much as arbitrage but as a cushion to keep the industry's bankruptcy disease at bay longer.  Labor stands to lose most at Delta but that was going to happen anyway.  US Air has a financing commitment from Citigroup for $7.2B to back the deal, aimed at refinancing Delta's DIP credit facility, US Airway's existing senior secured facility with GE Capital, and to provide the $4B in cash.

Straight off, I think this is a great idea for both companies.  Delta is one of the last of the old hub and spoke US majors to enter bankruptcy having fortunately or unfortunately secured major financing on September 10, 2001.  Over the past 5 years, despite a rebound in air travel demand, Delta has burned down that cash as its has faced stiff competition from point to point low cost carriers and post-bankruptcy majors with renegotiated cost positions (US Air alone has hit the skids twice leap frogging peer majors in its CASM 'Cost per Available Seat Mile' each time).  At the end of its capital, with an aging fleet more poorly exposed to increased fuel costs and a union not willing to make the necessary concessions, this deal ain't exactly bad for the airline of the South.

Where are the benefits and who gets them?  The main beneficiaries are Delta's credit and equity holders.  At present, shareholders stand to get completely wiped out in Chapter 11 and unsecured creditors will be left fighting it out for scraps exacerbated by the DIP facility.  Management may want to keep the airline independent for a variety of reasons, loyalty to labor and saving their own necks chief among them, but in bankruptcy the creditors get the final word and I imagine they will expect management to give US Air's offer a fair ear (and that it will take a heck of a sales effort by management to keep the company independent).

Da Pai Dan

I had lunch today with a friend from Beijing where the discussion quickly turned from the food on our plates (Brunch Bowl at the LSE) to eats from China.  We both weren't in search of much, just day dreaming of something wholesome, real, and preferrably cheap.  Enter the Da Pai Dan.

The Da Pai Dan is a generic word for a family cafeteria style restaurant found anywhere any China.  My friend, Howie, said it originated in Chengdu.  You can pick up a meal with friends for about 8 RMB each (that's about 1 USD) in the heart of Shanghai.  Grab a table if you can find one, order about 5 steaming hot dishes and pots of pork, vegetables, egg, tofu (ahh, the si shi ka fu...), chicken, and fish, and start chowing.  When the rice runs out refill cafeteria style from the community pot.  Put pocket change down on the table and saunter into a hot street wondering why not even your mother could make food this good.  Apparently, you can fetch a meal at a Da Pai Dan in Chengdu for 1 jiao, that's about 10 cents USD. 

When we snapped  back to, we realized we had done ourselves a disservice, cold fried cod still was on the table in front of us along with a vegetable salad consisting mostly of celery.   When it comes to eating, not exactly the salad days...