FROM MILAN TO CHICAGO, IN TWO SECONDS FLAT

Another week passes and I relish the thought that its Friday night. Nothing new other than I went to see a doctor about the bum shoulder: more tests needed, surgery a possibility.

The hunt for new Van Halen bootlegs continues to be difficult, limiting me to harvesting concerts from the recent 2007/2008 tour which I'm saving for this Fall and beyond, played as one year anniversary shows that will be blasted from the truck stereo on next seasons "parties on the pass". Very discouraging.

I've been downloading some really good Linkin Park concerts from the last couple years, great quality and great performances. I've also been burning CDs with concerts performed by Weezer, going back to the mid 1990's. Weezer was an emerging garage band (nerd band for geeky punks) in the early 1990's, contemporaries of Van Halen, playing a very different style and contributing to the changing music scene that eventually took Van Halen out in the late 1990's. Sources on the web say this about that band:

"When they first appeared on the commercial pop landscape back in 1994, it wasn't without a fair amount of derision from the indie rock cognoscenti. After all, these guys were copping the indie rock style, using the same pop culture references and the same hooks, but putting it out on a major label with no grassroots support behind them. They had no "cred," as it were. Where did Weezer come from anyway? The answer is: nowhere. Rivers Cuomo founded the band as an outlet for his love of Van Halen, Cheap Trick and Kiss just a year before getting signed. The group was quickly thrust into the spotlight following the mad rush of Nirvana's success, and suddenly "Buddy Holly" and "Undone" were radio hits."

"The Weezer logo was created by Pat Wilson during the mixing of "Jamie", which appeared on a DGC compilation disc. Shortly after, the logo was taped onto the back of Rivers' jacket which he wore around LA until the tape fell off. The logo is a parody of the Van Halen logo."

This nights concert was a bootleg entitled "Factory of Music", the first half recorded on January 31, 1995 (less than a week after Eddies 40th birthday) in Milan, Italy, the second half in Chicago on May 11, 1995. Excellent quality and the band was hot those nights. I'd love to get my hands on the complete concert recordings for both nights. The Milan show was unusual in that they played in a club before a relatively small audience (700 or so people). That'd be an experience to remember! Although bands like Weezer were on the rise, they were midgets when compared to the long established bands like Van Halen.

Dark nights fevered dreams

Pursued by an obsession

Embeds in his mind

Draw our attention

Bright new stars rise in the east

As the old stars set

A music so sweet

Eddie's guitar casts its spell

Our hearts in their hands

Mozart on steroids

Volts amplify the genius

Eddie works the crowd

Mother fucking arm

Doctor offers no advice

Music dulls the pain

Never stops moving

A world that passes us by

It takes no notice