GETTING HIGH WITH FRANCES

The first of several hut trips had arrived, this one being to Francie's Cabin just south of the ski town of Breckenridge.  This trip set two records for me.  The first was how easy the ski into the hut was, two miles and only an 800 foot climb.  The second was how little snow there was, especially considering it was early January.  This time last year we did Vance's hut during which the snow was coming down daily, the powder measured in feet.  This time there was enough snow on the trail to get us up but very little in the way of being skiable without threat of hitting rocks.  The majority of people seen up around the hut were either on snowshoes or simply walking in hiking boots.

Our party, including myself, consisted of 8 people, sharing the cabin with a slightly larger group of other visitors.  No matter what the snow conditions are, hanging out with a fun group of people in such a scenic location beats any day down here in Denver.  I had a great time.  Watched the sunset from the flank of Peak 10 the first day.  On the second day a group of us climbed up to the saddle below Peak 10, traveling mostly on foot across the brown grassy meadows and patches of snow.  Very windy up on top, a quick lunch followed by taking a different route back to ski what appeared to be the best snow patch on the mountainside.  A crusty sun baked and wind scoured snow patch yielded a few turns and falls.  About a half inch of fresh snow fell over night, making for a smooth exit back to the parking lot Saturday morning.

The next ski trip happens in less than three weeks.

As always, nights were spent listening to music after most people head upstairs to bed, leaving me on the deck outside with headphones, cigar and flask of tequila.  After a couple hours standing outside, the night's chill finally works its way through the several layers of clothing.  The lightweight sleeping bag near the wood stove is all I need for a decent nights sleep.

Thought he gave it all
Things we're told mean happiness
Everything but love

Last rays of sunlight
Snatched by cold peaks of gray stone
Feel the sudden chill

Jets streak overhead
Its sunlit contrail curling
Hear the low rumble

Bull's angry red eye
Hunters shield up in defense
His happy dog jumps

Dirty politicians
Campaign words for votes to take
Lies they can't escape

Wednesday night was spent with the Sex Pistols, their show at the Brixton Academy in London on November 10, 2007.  This was the same place I saw the Bunnymen a little over a year ago.

"Notorious punk legends the Sex Pistols are reuniting again, this time to play a solitary gig at London's Brixton Academy on November 8 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their incendiary debut album, Never Mind The Bollocks. While there may be whispers of discontent in Buckingham Palace and a smattering of irate Daily Mail readers may be moved to boot in their television screens in protest, the predominant reaction will no doubt be rapture as hordes of once spiky-haired but now bald old men dig out their bondage trousers for one last time."

Read it all here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2007/sep/18/memotothesexpistolsgetof

Download it here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?zphsmidz2yw

Thursday night started off with Television doing a show at the Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles, CA on April 5, 1997. 

Download it here:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=O53RAEQ2

Television was followed by Echo and the Bunnymen performing their matinee show at the Stratford Royal Shakespeare Theater on October 23, 1983, and excellent recording.

The Ocean Rain entry in Wikipedia says:

Echo and the Bunnymen were booked to headline a two-week youth festival at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon on the evening of 23 October 1983. Due to a high demand for tickets a matinee performance was added. The matinee concert at Stratford-upon-Avon saw the live debut of "The Killing Moon", "Seven Seas" and "Silver". With representatives from the band's record company and lead singer Ian McCulloch's mother in the audience, the performance was nervous and uncertain; although the evening performance, without the record company representatives and McCulloch's mother, was much improved.

Friday night was spent dancing in the snow with Nirvana, their show at the North Shore Surf Club in Olympia, WA on October 11, 1990, a good audience recording, if you disregard the two boobs, Alex and Byron, talking and making a number of disparaging remarks about the band during much of the recording.

After a succession of many Nirvana drummers, Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic finally lured David Grohl to join the band in 1990. This was the first show with Dave Grohl on drums.

The power went out multiple times toward the beginning of the show, causing the band to stop playing in the middle of "Molly's Lips" and "D-7," without finishing either song. It also caused them to stop in the middle of "Blew," but they finished the song when the power came back on.

Download it here:
https://rs59l35.rapidshare.com/#!download|59l3|18401645|North_Shore_Surf_Club__Olympia__WA__US__10-11-91___Dave_Grohl_s_First_Show_.rar|72861|R~0|0|0

Saturday night back at home I listened to my recording of Echo and the Bunnymen up on stage at the O2 Academy in Liverpool on December 18, 2009.  I'm really surprised at how good an audience recording it is, being only one row away from the barricade before the stage.  At times I can hear myself straining against the pushing crowd, knowing what I had to do just to maintain my position in the face of very physical members of the audience.  I certainly relived the moment as I stood in the cold outside, eyes closed, lost in the music.

See all the pictures here:
http://whatatemper.blogspot.com/2009/12/liverpool-second-show.html