FRIDAY SAKE IN OSAKA

It turns out the only problem with the truck stereo was that I needed to press the reset button on the face of the control panel. Done and its now working fine. We're back in action again!

Friday night finds me on the 1998 Van Halen III tour in Japan. The bootleg was an edited collection of some of the "popular" tunes from that tour, consisting largely of Roth and Hagar era songs sprinkled with a few of the new ones from the III album. Too bad because there are a few Cherone songs that I like that were excluded from this compilation. It became clear this evening what it is that separates Gary Cherone from DLR and Sammy: there's something about his voice that sounds kinda "flat", as though his vocal range is limited. Not surprising considering that their appearance in Japan was at the end of the tour and the associated wear and tear on his voice from having to sing every few nights for months. Earlier in the tour the strain became too much and he lost his voice 15 minutes into the concert, the band asking the audience to return the following night. Even after having made this observation, I was still rocking to the sound.

It was well after 11 PM before this 2 CD set was nearing the end, by which time I was feeling exhausted. I suspect it's the lack of sleep resulting from my aching right shoulder. I wake up, find it throbbing with pain, can't find a comfortable position and consequently sound sleep is difficult. The cumulative effect is dragging me down. I'm so looking forward to a physical therapy session scheduled for this coming week. That shoulder dislocation on Durango Mountain really messed me up.

Only 10 more shows before Van Halen's reunion tour comes to an end.

The songs start to fade
Fears the long lonely silence
Listens one last time