HIDE YOUR SHEEP IN FRESNO

Nice day but I got very little accomplished. The chain saw is still not working so I brought it in for a tune up. That dead tree gets to stand another week. Stopped in at Colorado Ski and Golf where reps of Aspen were selling ski passes. I picked up a 4 pack, which translates into two days of skiing during two weekends of the season. More parties on Independence Pass!

This Saturday night concert originally took place on September 5, 1982 at the Selland Arena in Fresno CA, part of the Diver Down "Hide Your Sheep" Tour. The band sold out all 80 of its U.S. concerts while grossing $10 million during an industry-wide slump in concert ticket sales. The stage set-up continued to get bigger and more elaborate. This was the tour that gave birth to the infamous "grid system." According to the Van Halen Encyclopedia:

"Each of the stage barricades was marked with a number and each number corresponded to specific security guards, located at various points around the stage. If Roth spotted a female fan that he wanted to party with after the show at say, section 24, the appropriate guard was sent to hunt her down and provide her with a backstage pass. Should the guard be unable to locate the specified person or if he found others en route who were good enough or better than the selected recipient, it was his call whether or not to provide them with a pass."

This was a decent audience recording with DLR doing his usual rapping with the loud crowd. The usual story of Dave's exploits back at the hotel room during "Everybody Wants Some". A classic Van Halen set list. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I've been listening to a lot of DLR era sound these last 2-3 weeks because that's the bulk of my collection. I'm beginning to crave the Sammy sound from the late 80's and 1990's. I suspect next weekend I'll be switching gears to taste the music from Van Halen II and III eras. Can't wait!

Clouds obscure her face
Pale skinned beauty of the night
Hides behind the veil

Lifts off with the booze
But music achieves its goal
Escape velocity

Dave's bottle of Jack
Amber lips through his lips
Uncorked voice of gold

With each burning gulp
Drifts closer to the minds edge
Leaps, and then he's gone

No one else does it
Lost art by the lone master
Ed's guitar solo

Cranks up the music
One twelfth of a rotation
Leaves it all behind

Spits out tobacco
With words running through his head
Counting syllables

Music at an end
He struggles to remember
Back to the future