PARTY ON INDEPENDENCE PASS: 04/03/08

The first day was spent skiing Aspen Highlands which had received a little fresh snow during the course of the week. I was in the first snow cat ride up that day, taking me part way up to Highland Bowl, summiting on foot after a climb of about 20 minutes. Clouds enveloped the peak, with rare glimpses of the nearby 14teeners. A good depth of wind blown powder had accumulated within the bowl for excellent skiing. Rather than be lost in the vast whitness of the snow and fog, I followed the rigdeline and then dropped down through the trees where the best pow was to be found.

A sudden snow storm moved in mid-afternoon, sending most people, including myself, back to town. I wandered the streets of Aspen, stopping in shops and taking in a movie ("Bank Job"). Van Halen's "Right Now" played in one ski gear shop, staying long enough to here it through to the end.

Look back up the slope
Tall black firs point to the sky
Frame the sun's halo

Drove out to where Hihghway 82 dead ends in snow below Independence Pass. Dinner was cooked on the truck tailgate, Progresso soup fortified with Raman Noodles. Tasty! That night I went back to 1984, August 25th and Rasunda Stadium in Stockholm, Sweden. The quality of the bootleg probably rates a good audience recording. What was noticeable was that the performance was sloppy and seemed to lack the spontaneity of earlier concerts. Not surprising considering this was their 107th concert that began in January of that year. After Sweden they play in Switzerland and then twice in Germany. Their last concert as Van Halen happened on September 2, 1984. That marked the end of David Lee Roth and Van Halen I. So the quality of the Stockholm performance was indicative of a band in decline, influenced by conflicts of personality and creativity that eventual led to Diamond Dave's departure. This parting led to Van Halen's successful reincarnation with the addition of Sammy Hagar. The quality of this particular performance also emphasized for me how damn good the music was with Sammy as lead singer. Rejuvenated, the Phoenix rose from the ashes!Ten long years running
Fast paced lifestyle takes its toll
Forgot how to sing

Swirling round and round
Last nights concert in his head
Halen hangover

PARTY ON McCLURE PASS: 04/02/08

I began the drive up to the Aspen area immediately after work, the beginning of my end of season blow-out ski trip. Turned out to be a odd road trip as proven by its very beginning.

What the hell is wrong with Colorado drivers? I trailed behind another vehicle in the passing lane on the highway through Vail when all of a sudden a truck in the slow lane swerves over and cuts him off, forcing everyone to break hard. But then it all happened in slow motion: the truck keeps on going, enters the snowy median, hits a pile of snow, launches into the air, rolls a couple times and comes to rest in the east bound lanes on its side, a total wreck. WOW! The guy must have fallen asleep because he never once hit the breaks. A few more seconds and he might have instead hit the guy in front of me, forcing evasive action to avoid two out of control vehicles. It was a sobering experience.

Truck swerves across lanes

Swift rollovers dusty wreck

Pass roadside crosses

Snow receds from road

Shaggy furred carcass exposed

Winters dead revealed

All so serious

With inflated importance

Nothing in the end

I stopped at Penny hot spring along the Crystal River near Redstone. Six guys crammed into a small area of the pool where it was warm (elsewhere it was either scalding hot or too cold because of the river). Loud and drunk. They soon departed, only to be replaced by another group of five people, everyone lamenting that no one had any weed. I packed up the same time they left the riverside pool, restoring peace and quiet to the valley.

Tonight's concert was "VAN HALEN LIVE: Right here, right now", recorded on May 14 and 15, 1992 at Selland Arena in Fresno, CA. Parked at the end of a snowy road below McClure pass, I cranked up the stereo, poured the tequila and lit the cigar for nearly 2 hours of rockin' music. Once again, this concert punched it for me when it comes to Sammy Hagar: I am now a firm believer that he had a positive influence on their music, bringing new life to the VH sound. And I loved every minute of it!

Cathedral's guitar
Might as well have been a harp
Eddie makes me cry

Era once dismissed
Blinded by his ignorance
Wakes to Sammy's light

LET THE PARTY BEGIN!

Tomorrow evening I head off to Aspen for five days of skiing in the southwestern corner of Colorado. Days hunting for powder followed by Van Halen parties on the pass - McClure, Independence, Red Mountain, Molas and Wolf Creek Passes. WOOHOO! My liver will be screaming for mercy at the end of the trip.

I picked up the remaining Van Halen CDs from Second Spin at discount prices. "5151" (released March 26, 1986), "OU812" (released May 24, 1988), "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" (also known as the F.U.C.K. album, released June 17, 1991), "Live: Right Here, Right Now" (released February 23, 1993), and "Van Halen III" (released February 24, 1998), each of which kicked off one of their world concert tours. I now have the pleasure of listening to them all, grooving on "brand new" music from the band. Although I had heard some of their post-Diamond Dave tunes, I now look forward to really enjoying their later music, song by song, following their slow evolution, you might even say maturation. I've already listened to a couple of the Sammy era albums (5150 and OU812) and have begun to appreciate his contribution to Van Halen - I sense they're more serious about the music, better lyrics, Sammy's voice is strong and a "tighter" feel overall. Whatever it was, it worked well because it brought the band their first number one record on the charts, followed by three others. I'm gonna really enjoy the next few days as I join the screaming crowds across the world enjoying the boys in concert.

Sammy takes the stage

Shares the spotlight with Eddie

Band reaches new heights

Eighty four is past

It's fifty one fifty time!

Red Rocker kicks ass

Ed's lost interest

Diamonds no longer sparkle

His Red Rocker shines!

High on the music

Jose's push over the edge

In-tox-i-ca-ted

SONGS IN HAIKU

I came across a website called "Songs In Haiku, Lyrics Distilled To Three Lines Of Verse". It can be found at http://songsinhaiku.blogspot.com/, so go check it out. Earl, Kaman, Dianne, and Patrick all contribute to the site, taking requests from their guests and then posting haikus about artists, albums or individual songs. Last week I requested they make an attempt to write about Van Halen and they were gracious enough to post the resulting haikus. I share these poems, and a few others they wrote, with you below:

Past troubles and tears
are the basis for new dreams.
Be strong and climb high.
(Earl)

Learn from our failures.
We stand on our broken dreams
to reach for new ones.
(Patrick)

Life has you in tears,
be strong and strive for new dreams.
Leave the past behind.
(Kman)

Use tough times and tears
as motivation to keep
reaching for your dreams.
(Dianne)

Bill was a bad man,
'til he found a good woman.
Now William is whipped.

Delinquent decides

that with a pretty teacher

school isn't so bad

Please visit their site and enjoy their haikus for a long list of artists/bands.

SATURDAY IN CARACUS

Sunday was super concert night that spanned both the Dave and Sammy eras. It started off with the boys appearing at the Poliebro in Caracus, Venezuela on January 16, 1983. It was great hearing the old set list containing many of their early hits. Eddie was front and center on this boot, just burning up the strings from beginning to end.

Eddies hot tonight

Loud riffs fill the cold night air

Magic from the past

Stoked up on the juice, I was not ready to call it quits when the CD ended so I went inside and popped in Van Halen's "Live Without A Net" DVD, filmed on August 27, 1986 at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in New Haven, CT.

This video was released for the purpose of introducing Van Halen fans to their new singer Sammy Hagar. And they succeeded because it was a smokin hot concert during which the energy and quality of their music came through loud and clear! A must have for any VH fan.
After seeing this concert, I'm convinced that the band was transformed in a subtle and positive way, with the addition of Sammy's creativity and energy. A lot of good songs came from this new collaborative effort. I can't wait to dig into the new downloads from this era!