RIGHT HERE IN SWEDEN, RIGHT NOW

As go all Saturdays, I seem to accomplish (or not) a mish-mash of tasks with an emphasis of not pushing it. The chainsaw doctor said the the cause is hopeless: after putting in considerable time, he could not get the machine running reliably. The age of the chainsaw and the expense needed to keep it going suggests its time to buy a new one. I'll easily drop $300 finding a good replacement. But is it an essential tool considering all the trimming/cutting I do around the house.

I'm still finding fairly good 2004 and 2007/2008 tour concerts on Guitars 101 that I'm downloading and burning onto CDs. After a recent surge, the new finds are definitely waning. But I have enough music to listen every weekend well into next year. I just wonder whether my liver will last that long.

With regard to my liver, on Saturday morning I wake up feeling somewhat wiped out, the tequila/cigar combo being especially potent. I'm always restored by late in the afternoon, but then when the evening approaches and I plan my next night's virtual reality concert tour, the thought of repeating that drinking experience is not always welcome. But after the first shot and having the music cranked up, all is well. The flask is never finished during this second go around.

Speeding down the road
Events passing by so quickly
Towards the dark horizon

High flying lights blink
People relaxed in their seats
Lost in the distance

The storm front's deposit
Distant peaks bathed in pure white
Winter is coming

A world in decline
People tired of the past
A message of hope

I was jonesing for a Sammy and Eddie show from the 1990's, so I chose to play their April 9, 1993 concert when they appeared in Stockholm, Sweden during the Right Here, Right Now tour following the release of the live show album/video of the same name. What a difference between this show and the one I had listened to last night with DLR. I'm now seeing that Sammy raps as much if not more with the audience as Diamond Dave. During this recording he'd spend a bit of time between almost every song chatting it up. This show was the 7th one on the tour, all the shows up until then having been in European cities. He couldn't recall what day it was or what countries they had been to. That's the life of rock and roll stars in their prime.

Find it here:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CS51XA51

Ian Christe's "The Van Halen Saga" says this about their 1993 tour:

Venturing to Europe in March 1993 for the first time in nine years, the Right Here, Right Now tour was launched in Munich, Germany, not far from Nuremberg where the 1984 tour had ended. They had never been to Europe with Sammy before, and gained an unexpected publicity bump from fifty-six-year-old international superstar singer Nana Mouskouri, earner of 250 gold and platinum records around the world. "I just love Van Halen and David Lee Roth, or hard rock," she said.

After seeing his fist-pumping stage presence, Continental crowds blamed the uber-American Sammy for keeping Van Halen away from Europe for so long- especially in Holland, where a thirteen-year absence had strained family ties.

Back in the United States, Van Halen picked up erstwhile Motley Crue singer Vince Neil as an opening act. This former David Lee Roth clone now had a successful solo act while his former band carried on with a new lead singer. In the Motley Crue biography The Dirt, Neil fondly recalled bonding with Sammy through kamikaze shots before Neil's set and margaritas before Van Halen's. "He always ended up with the short end of the deal," Neil said with a laugh, "because he was always wasted before he hit the stage."

A sound so lovely

Not unlike a harp's lullaby

Angel plays the strings

Come on baby please

He remembers the first time

Jamie was cryin'