Saturday, December 20, 2008

I KNOW THE WAY TO SAN JOSE

A week of parties from beginning to end! At work and after work. That's what the holidays are all about. They are lots of fun, but after a while I long for the peace and quiet of just being left to ones self. That's why I'm already looking forward to the end of the holidays, longing for the everyday routines of life: Van Halen and skiing!

I spent the early part of the evening at a friends house where guests were invited over a celebratory holiday dinner. By 10 PM I was back on the road, heading towards my parking spot on the prairie overlooking the bright lights of Denver, stars above. The clouds over the mountains suggested it was storming and by the end of my virtual concert they had covered the entire sky, bringing with them a frigid north wind. So cold in fact I had to turn the truck around in order to use it as a wind break, otherwise my capped head would have frozen, taking away from my enjoyment of the music. Home by 2 AM.

This nights concert was a very good audience recording of their show at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA on December 16, 2007, almost exactly a year ago. The band performed well, Dave giving it all he's got, but Eddie seemed to lack the spark he had ten years ago or earlier. His playing lacked that energy, crispness and "tight" feeling you get from his earlier work, almost as though he was consciously searching for the notes as opposed to it flowing directly from the heart. But it was all good and I relived a night on the 2007 leg of their most recent tour.

Lying in the dark
Hears distant voices speaking
Outside the doorway

A north wind blowing
It slices through the fabric
A bone numbing cold

So true and steady
Sitting on his backstage throne
Alex on the drums

For three decades long
Stands in his stage lit cathedral
Guitar oh so sweet

Earth's eternally
Moon above the horizon
Yellow light beckons

Rises to the clouds
The music takes him higher
Nothing gets him down

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