SINGING IN THE RAIN

On Friday I visited a bookshop here in Denver that I had not been to in at least 10 years, only to learn that Ichabobs Bookstore was bought and is now occupied by Mutiny Now, an art gallery/bookstore/coffee shop owned and operated by Jack Jensen, the artist who's work hangs on the wall of the store. A lot of interesting used books, but I instantly fell in love with Jack's art work, a little over a dozen pieces hung on the walls or on display in the front window. Simple pieces of pop art that carry messages that make one either think or slap you in the face. I did a quick run through the book shelves to see what categories he carried, but most of my short time there was spent admiring the rough paintings and their message.


From Westword:

Appearing on the walls and in the windows are images of skulls, singers and scantily clad women with guns, all done on Masonite boards. They're depicted with slashing lines in bright yellows, oranges and blues, and often juxtaposed with phrases such as "Who's making the rules anyway?" and "Dang, I forgot to get a job." The influences of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, as well as rockers Iggy Pop and the New York Dolls, are clear. Over the years, hundreds of the paintings have been sold, some reaching Tokyo, Berlin and Budapest. "I guess I'm world-famous," Jensen says.

When his works do find their way into the world, truth is often stranger than fiction. One of his pictures was at the neighboring Cherry Pit when the building burned last spring. Fire gutted the area, but his creation -- of a man smoking a cigarette and emblazoned with the caption "I won't be the one who's going to suffer" -- remained untouched. Any smoke residue will only add to its value.

Despite the popularity of his work, not everyone likes Jensen, a fact he cheerfully acknowledges.

"I'm the hated artist," he says, noting that other painters have urged him to raise his prices from the current $50 to $125 because his inexpensive offerings make them look bad. "I don't paint with my wallet in mind. I'd rather sell ten paintings to ten people for fifty bucks each than sell one for $500. I can make it up in volume."

It takes him no more than two hours to pound out a piece in his studio. He scribbles down things he hears and works the lines into his output. For example, when a boy and his dad came into the store, Jensen heard the man answer a question about his haircut by saying, "It takes a rocker to wear a pompadour." That became a signature line.

http://www.westword.com/2005-07-28/news/art-attack/

I went back to the bookstore Saturday morning intending to pick up a colorful piece to hang up somewhere in the house. I met Jack and we talked awhile about his art and what inspires him. Most of the messages on his painting are statements made by visitors to the store that he juxtaposes with interesting and odd images. As proof he pulls out scraps of paper from his pocket with quotes scribbled on them. He said he sells several hundred paintings a year with new ones going on display all the time. That means I will be driving down south Broadway often to see the latest paintings that come out of his mind.

Intending to purchase one painting, I walk out of his gallery with three in my arms. I love'em! Grace Jones is in my daughters room, the other two in the adjoining hallway. Considering how prolific Jack is, I will eventually fill all empty wall space with his art.

The remainder of the day was spent ripping dry wall from around windows I am preparing to replace when I reside that section of the house. I learned that the windows were shipped from the factory the day before, so the real work begins next weekend. Here we go!

A low pressure system was sending cold and rain to the Front Range of Colorado. Temperatures never rose out of the 50's, a steady drizzle falling all day and into the night. The kids' plan go to the carnival in Parker were postponed until Sunday (more cold and rain!).

We were all scheduled to see U2 perform at Invesco Field this Saturday night, but their 360 tour was cancelled due to Bono's need for surgery. Perhaps the cancellation is a good thing for us because the cold and rain would have made for a terrible time at this open air venue. As a substitute for the cancelled show, I downloaded U2's October 25, 2009 performance at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. And because of the rain, I had to rig the truck up with a trap so that I could do my thing standing outside in the mud. It turned out well, this new truck having better sound and arrangements for holding virtual concerts during bad weather.

Lets get back to our roots. First up was an excellent recording of Van Halen's live performance at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England on June 1, 1978. Classic performance of their show opening up for Ozzy Osbourne's Black Sabbath during their trip to England, their "First UK Invasion". Excellent sound, excellent performance.

Grown tired and sleepy

Tears trickle down furrowed cheeks

March on the long trail

Lines of marbled stone

As far as the eye can see

Heads bowed as they pass

The U2 recording was probably ripped from their recently released DVD of their 360 tour show at the Rose Bowl. Great quality and an awesome performance by the band.

Live Review: U2s 360 Tour At The Rose Bowl

October 26, 2009

"Enough of the folk mass!" declared Bono during U2's historic Rose Bowl performance Sunday, leading his band and the nearly 100,000 fans in the stadium out of a singalong and into a dance party. The 49-year-old singer/activist/life of the party has been making such quick metaphorical turns for much of his life, fronting a band known for transcendence but hardly immune to sensual pleasure.

Usually, Bono and his band mates travel from prayers to come-ons on the force of charisma and a sound that's ascendant and sleekly funky, structured around the Edge's stretchy guitar parts and Bono's dirty-faced choirboy cries. But for this tour, U2 has adopted another mode of transport: the four-legged circular stage rig known as the Claw, or the Space Station. This contraption is an extravagance with a big carbon footprint and an even bigger price tag. But in Pasadena, it proved worth every Euro, allowing this most ambitious rock band to genuinely reconfigure live pop performance.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2009/10/live-review-u2s-360-tour-at-the-rose-bowl.html

After taking a lot of criticism for their ostentatious and overpriced "360 Tour," U2 broke its own attendance record.

Last week, U2 performed at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to a record-breaking crowd of 97,014 people. This show broke the previous record of 86,145 concert attendees by a single headliner which was held by U2 for their "Joshua Tree Tour" show in Philadelphia.

U2's 360 concert tour--despite its popular attendance--has been receiving a lot of criticisms for its overpriced tickets and ostentatious stage appearance. Talking Heads lead singer David Byrne has been publicly vocal about his disapproval of U2's tour costs and the humanitarian band's hypocrisy:

"$40 million to build the stage and, having done the math, we estimate 200 semi trucks crisscrossing Europe for the duration. It could be professional envy speaking here, but it sure looks like, well, overkill, and just a wee bit out of balance given all the starving people in Africa and all."

http://www.stylecaster.com/news/6142/u2-360-tour-breaks-attendance-records

FROM BERLIN TO HULTSFRED, LIGHTNING SHOWS THE WAY

The summer house renovation project has begun with valuable weekend time spent stripping paper off the walls of the room at the highest point in the house, in preparation for ripping off the old siding, punching out the windows and replacing them with new ones before residing. This means tearing apart both the outside and inside of the house. So that essentially means two renovation projects at once. Sounds relatively easy but it will certainly stretch out for weeks.


A very active sky these last several days, possibly the result of the strong winds we've been experiencing. After spending Sunday removing wallpaper, I retreated to the roof of the house, lawn chair placed on the peak to enjoy a cigar and watch the sunset. Always a relaxing experience. I mourned knowing that A Basin, the last ski area to stay open this season, closed this day with plenty of snow still on the ground.

Saturday night was reserved for the virtual concert, the show getting underway at around 10PM. When I arrived at my secluded location on the prairie, threatening thunderclouds towered all around, the bolts of lightning flashing in the night sky. I initially set up under this covered structure near the entrance of this yet to be built subdivision, to avoid getting caught in the rain that was at the moment coming down lightly. But the fast moving storms passed by quickly and the stars emerged, moving myself and the truck to a better location away from the road with better views all around.

Going back to an old favorite, I first listened to The Killers perform live at the Columbia Club in Berlin on November 11, 2004. That was several months after they released their first album, Hot Fuss. A good show and good quality recording, in which Brandon Flowers periodically goads the audience into showing more enthusiasm for their performance. A relatively short setlist, setting me up for the main act to follow.

BPs the hit man

Hired to do the dirty work

Paid for with our cash

White sand lapped by blue

Threatened by our black shadow

The innocent suffer

Echo & The Bunnymen performed next, their April 27, 1985 live performance in Hultsfred in Norway. The first third of the show was spent doing cover songs from the likes of The Velvet Underground, Wilson Pickett, The Doors and The Rolling Stones. The remainder of their time spent on stage was spent performing their early classics, many of which they continue to perform today. An excellent audience recording!

A sky filed with stars when I returned home to a darkened house.

Passing overhead

Skyscrapers in the night sky

Lit by white flashes

Flopping in the muck

Feathers glisten with black oil

Just waiting to die

No creature spared

Swim through our brown toxic soup

Bodies wash ashore

SUNNY SKIES WITH A HINT OF GRAY

Woke up to another fine day, packing up and heading right out on the road. Made a short detour to the mining "ghost town" of St. Elmo, a suburb of Iron City. Looks like people have begun moving in and making slow progress fixing the place up. Back out on the highway, heading south into the San Luis Valley, 14,000 foot peaks on either side of the valley.

Breakfast in Salida. Our first stop was the UFO Watchtower in the middle of the valley. A guy on a golf cart took our $5, telling me he's seen nothing unusual, but that his aunt has seen over 1500 UFOs in her many years living nearby. It was an interesting detour, breaking up the monotony of the drive.

Our next stop was just down the road at the Alligator Farm. The original purpose of the farm was to raise fish for sale in stores and restaurants, the gators used for cleaning up the resulting scraps. But the gators stole the show and with a bunch of other reptiles are the main attraction and money maker for the farm. It was surprising how busy the place was considering the steep entry fee charged. Many alligators lounging in the pools, soaking up the sun, old tires used as pillows. People brought their dogs along and I kept on thinking what would happen if they were tossed into the alligator pen. The alligators seemed so well fed that I think any live animal in the pen would come out ok.

Arrived in Taos, New Mexico in time for lunch. Parked the car and walked the streets in the downtown area where an amazing number of art galleries are located. An art festival with booths selling everything from sculptures and paintings was also happening in the park. Too much to see, especially when the kids tire of it quickly. By late afternoon it was time for a diversion.

Before leaving home I checked and confirmed there were a pair of natural hot springs in the area, both located a short distance from one another, but on opposite sides of the Rio Grande River canyon near Arroyo Hondo. The first one we visited was a short distance off a hairpin turn on the road out of the canyon, the turnoff occupied by a group of Spanish speaking guys who were drinking beer and playing their music on the car stereo. Their version of "party on the pass." Black Rock Hot Spring was a small pool at river level, the water in it lukewarm in temperature, but still warmer than the melt water running down the river. Not enticing enough to get in so we return to the parked vehicle, another one or two new car having pulled in for the beer drinking party.

Our next objective was Stagecoach Hot Spring somewhere downstream on the opposite bank of the river. Rutted backroads lead towards our destination, visible by the old pony express road leading down the wall of the canyon. After a couple of missteps, I figured out the correct location of the trailhead, but by then it was late and we decided against going down to the spring. Back to Taos where we had a fine dinner at Anotonio's, closing the place down. We drove north on the highway out of town into the national forest where I found a secluded turnoff into the Ponderosa pine forest where we set up the tent and spent the night.

Coffee and microwave breakfast burritos from the gas station kick start the day. Back on the bumpy roads to the trailhead and on down the canyon wall following the old pony express road to Stagecaoch Hot Spring. Clear water filled pool alongside a fast moving muddy river. The view up river revealed an advancing party of people filled rafts and kayaks, our seclusion to be short lived. Soaked in the bathwater warm pool enjoying the warmth and sunshine. I could have spent hours lounging around down there. Shortly thereafter the steady stream of people began to arrive, either hiking down the trail or pulling ashore from rafts on the river. We were done shortly before noon and returned to the waiting car above. I took the better road out to the highway, driving through a community of odd and interestingly designed homes, noting the entry for future use next winter when I ski Taos and look for a place to soak my bones afterwards.

Back to Taos where we hit a few more art galleries and had lunch at The Alley Cantina. I could not leave town without purchasing something to add to the collection at home.

What was most unusual about this Memorial Day weekend was that this artsy town was filled with bikers on their motorcycles. Apparently there was a biker festival in Red River, both that mountain community and Taos being located on the road known as the "Enchanted Loop." Endless streams of loud motorcycles, what I envision Sturgis, North Dakota being like in August. It was nice leaving the area and the ever present roar of the road bikes.

The kids were anxious to get back home. I was burned out on art galleries. By Sunday afternoon we turned around and began driving the 300 miles back to Denver. But not before taking a detour through the Wet Valley on the east side of the spectacular Sangre de Cristo Mountains. By late afternoon, I saw where they got the expression "purple mountain majesty." The range is stunningly beautiful, with the 14,000 foot tall Crestone Peak, Crestone Needle and Humbolt Peak dominating in its center. Down to the Arkansas River, through Colorado Springs and we arrive home around 10PM. Enough time for a virtual concert!

I grabbed a flask, cigar and CD, heading out to the prairie where I put the new truck to the test, especially after having the stereo taken out of the old truck and put in the new one. What's great is that the additional door that provides access to the backseat area allows the rear speakers to now broadcast their sound directly outside. Great sound! I popped in The Bunnymen's "gray" album, the remastered version with several bonus tracks. Having parked in a remote location, I cranked up the music and thoroughly enjoyed myself, watching the near full moon rise up over the eastern horizon. Back home sometime before midnight.

The justice system

Marching to the law's drumbeat

Lives break underfoot

The cold moonlight

It shines on everyone

And yet for no one

Left so suddenly

Shadows of their memory

Never to grow old

Gunships deadly fire

Laugh as the bodies crumble

Bloody hands high five

Drumbeat marks wars toll

Marching towards the dark summit

Grim, far off mountain