DAVE'S BACK IN DC!

Lets go back, as Gary Cherone would sing, a year to the day since they've been gone. What better way to spend this November 1st evening than with Van Halen playing at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. on November 1, 2007! What a difference a few days make! As you may recall, the October 26th show in Kansas City was uncharacteristically bad, the following show was canceled, but then two shows later in DC Dave appears to be his old self, jiving with the audience throughout the show, giving it all he's got. This bootleg is a good audience recording.

A comparison must be made with yesterdays 1998 show in Philadelphia. Not the quality of the recording (the Philly show easily wins), but the quality of Eddie's playing. Eddie of 1998 is soulful and beautifully executed. Nine years later in 2007 I get the sense that his heart is not really in it, that he's simply going through the motions to perform for a packed house. It's as though in 1998 he was striving to made a comeback after losing a second lead singer, playing his brand of rock in a musically changing and challenging time, fighting to be relevant. In 2007 I get the sense that he's accepted the fact that the best was in the past, and at most he's going to play well enough to get through the reunion tour and make a few bucks off of it. It's as though his heart is not in it like in '98 and earlier. Or maybe its age catching up. Or maybe its something as simple as the recording, where in the mix Eddie sounds distant. Or all of the above.

A beautiful night on the prairie. Mild temperature and starry skies. For the first time ever a car drove by through the unbuilt subdivision. My first thought is it's the police and how do I talk my way out of being there while boozed up. Fortunately the car passes, continues on and disappears down the main road to Parker. No noise complaints. No sheriff to confront. In bed by 1AM.

Orion shows his face
Climbs above horizons rim
Winters messenger

Spins on its axis
Stars parade cross the dark sky
With or without us

Distant suns burning
Far off worlds unto themselves
We in their night sky

Glow below nights sky
City lights rival the stars
Just embers from space

Eternity's flow
Live our complicated lives
Only for an instant

A laser beams light
Mirrored disc's code is transformed
Brings them back to life

Eight track tape heros
There upon the forest bridge
Musics dream is born

HALLOWEEN IN PHILADELPHIA

The uneventfully week ended on Halloween, one of my favorite days in that dark facets of my personality are unchained and allowed to emerge for the public to see. The days of dressing up and going to late night parties are long gone. Instead I join others who bravely dress up to inject bizarre yet fun moments into the boringly normally business environment of the office. I'm fortunate that management is tolerant of this behavior. I did find it difficult to sit down and have serious conversations with other staff who had not dressed up for the occasion. I suspect the people sitting opposite me could say the same while having to look at the odd character I had become.

Knowing that I'd be playing a 2007 tour bootleg Saturday night, I chose a Van Halen III era recording for Friday night. The bootleg selected was recorded on May 24, 1998 at the CoreStates Spectrum in Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia honored the band's 22nd career performance there by declaring May 24 "Van Halen Day." All four members of the band received miniature replicas of the Liberty Bell.

This particular show was a fantastic recording that would be hard to beat. I suspect it was taped from a soundboard, with Gary's vocals and Eddie's guitar pushed up in the mix. I don't exactly know what it is about the 1998 shows that I love, but I think it's because a sober Eddie is playing some of the best guitar in his career. It's awe inspiring! Gary's vocals are good but are no match for Eddie's guitar. I had a rocking time this mild night out on the prairie, a cool wind blowing out of the south.

Ian Christe in his book The Van Halen Saga writes:

Eddie began mentioning a higher power for the first time in relation to his musical gifts. "I don't mean to get deep on you, but there's some force out there, and for me to come up with the whole thing in ten minutes - it was just given to me. Anyone who thinks that they're responsible for something like that can kiss my ass. God just picked me to do this. And you try to keep your chops up so whatever he gives you, you can execute."

Ever present wind
Blowing gently in his face
Breaths deeply nights air

Crowd breaks out in cheer
They know who the master is
Call in unison

Young gifted genius
Learns to play the piano
Masters the guitar

Spanning three decades
Fingers make the guitar sing
Still the reigning king

A sound so unique
Hammering the guitar's strings
Know when he's on stage

A wave of the hand
A temperamental god
Chooses what he shares

Plays oh so sweetly
He excites the audience
There can only be one

Years keeping the groove
Standing beside the giants
Lost in their shadows

He's ten years too late
Notes that can never be replayed
Saved by the downloads

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'

LOST BROTHERS REUNITED

Another week zips by as we rocket to the end of the year. Saw the physical therapist and he ran my shoulder through some painful moves, but it sure feels good afterwards. We are continuing to make progress, although the shoulder is beginning to ache every now and then, making me wonder if the injection from over two months ago is wearing off.

A Basin and Lovelend have already gotten some powder days. I've chosen not to go up this early in the season because skiing one or two runs is just not worth the expense. If I find the time, I'll tune up and wax the skis in the garage to prepare for the first day of my ski season.

Some of you are familiar with this message:

"Sorry, you are not permitted to use this board"

I dedicate the following to those of you who run that exclusive club:

Pledged loyalty spurned
Cast out by false prophets
The believer triumphs

Freedom is captured
Hoard their labeled specimens
Nights spent counting beats

Prison door unlocked
Their treasure stands unsecured
Thief steals from thieves

Locked in their clutches
Key to the dark cell is found
Set the music free!

Hey, how else to celebrate Friday night on October 24, 2008 than with Van Halen's show from October 26, 2007? That will be the pattern for the remainder of the "tour": if one of the 2007/2008 shows I have in my collection coincides on or very near the same day one year later, that's the concert that gets blasted on the truck stereo if it happens to be a Friday or Saturday night.

Almost exactly a year ago to the day Van Halen played at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO. A good quality recording, although Dave's voice did not come through as loud and clear as I would have preferred. In a way I feel sorry for the folks in Kansas City that night because I got the distinct impression that the boys were simply hustling through the set list in a very business-like fashion. No rapping with the audience during or in between songs. No megaphone harmonica intro, Dave plays just a few notes before they rip into "Somebody Get Me A Doctor". Although Dave tries his best, the whole show seems somewhat sterile. That may explain why at the end of the concert the taper or one of his buddies remarks that it was one of the worst shows he's been to. Rumor had it that Dave was not feeling well about this time and/or Eddie was drinking again, explaining the mediocre performance by both of them. It is interesting to note that the band cancelled their next concert in St. Louis, MO on the 28th, lending some truth to the rumors. I didn't let any of this interfere with my usual concert on the prairie experience, as I "danced the night away."

Stands with eyes closed
All thought is on the music
World between his ears

Egos in conflict
Marriage of convenience
Beautiful music

Band gets together
Are lost for so many years
Brothers reunited

Run through the set list
Play what the audience wants
All about business

To the precipice
The promise of musics flight
Pushed by Eddie's hand

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