ALL TREMBELY AT WEMBLY

Saturday night after a long day spent stripping paint off the pair of doors found at the main entrance of our house. I'm hoping that by next weekend I will have both painted a cranberry red or bright maroon color that will contrast nicely with the olive green paint on the new siding with the reddish brown trim accents. The eye popping contrast will be very similar to the picture of Wembley Stadium in London above. After the mind-numbing task of stripping paint off a pair of 15 panel doors and all its detail, I was ready to party.

First up was Van Halen's performance at Wembley Stadium in London, opening up for Bon Jovi (seen above). Amazing, Van Halen opening up for someone else! Not since 1978 had they done that! The idea was that by performing with Bon Jovi in Eurpoe Van Halen might tap into both his popularity and younger audience. It had been many years since Van Halen played in Europe, performing fewer than 20 dates in the past 10 years. Although they opened 24 shows for Bon Jovi near the beginning of their Balance tour, the lack of reaction from the crowd disturbed Eddie and put him in a funk, turning to the bottle for comfort.

According to Ian Criste:

During the European Trek with Bon Jovi, Alex was shocked when a fan asked after the concert if they had any other records besides Balance. "This tour is a rock and roll band and a bunch of posers," he told a German paper. "We indeed play the same venues Bon Jovi plays, but we simply wanted to play in front of as many people as possible. The sad thing about it is that he, Bon Jovi, tries to get some credibility out of it."

This is the only recording I have of their time in Europe during the Balance tour (with the exception of the pre tour show in Holland back in January, the "Secret Gig"). An excellent recording of their short time on stage, playing several of their best known songs. A very tight performance with Eddie dominating one side and Sammy on the other. I only wish it were a standard Balance tour show that went on for 2 hours.

Hold their screaming signs

Rigormortis of the mind

Mouth theater's script

Say he's the leader

Bible's savior in white robe

Put on their peaked hoods

Cherish their freedom

Scream for fabled liberty

Moved about like pawns

Selfish ignorance

Loud anger in their voices

Watch the sky turn black

Next up was Echo & The Bunnymen performing live at the Savoy in New York city on April 1, 1984. Another excellent recording of a classic post-Porcupine 1984 show just before they released Ocean Rain (May 8, 1984). I wonder who that guy, Mike, is who got caught with a potted plant that Ian talks about. I had tried listening to this show a couple times while visiting my sister in New York this past summer, but part way into the show I realized I was too exhausted from an active day at the beach, cutting it short in an effort to get some sleep in my tent pitched in the back yard.

I swayed to the music late into the night on this cool summer evening. Not looking forward to a second day of sanding doors in preparation for painting.

Download it here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MCBNPFF1