MUSE TAKES DENVER

Another weekend working on the room, one more step closer to the end. I'm hoping I can bring it to a close by next Sunday.

A fire in the mountains made for interesting light Sunday evening. The news confirmed that the orange tinted clouds were due to the fire 70 miles away.

After returning from the Coachella Music Festival in April, I learned that the UK rock band Muse was going to play at the Pepsi Center on October 2nd, months away. The time passed quickly and that date was this weekend. My wife and son joined me. My daughter was unable to come along because she was stage director working on a play that evening at the high school. I chose not to sell the two spare tickets to the scalpers hovering outside the Pepsi Center, their offered price not being worth the cost of having to sit next to strangers. I kept them for the extra arm and leg room on either side of us.

A great show with a fabulous stage setup, sections of floor rising and falling, the sides of these pillars brightly lit with abstract images and also acting as big screen TVs. I thoroughly enjoyed their music. After complaining loudly about not wanting to go, I actually believe my 13 year old son enjoyed himself this evening! Needless to say, I was fortunate my wife was acting as the designated driver tonight.

The band is described as such:

Muse are a multi award-winning English alternative rock band that formed in Devon, England in 1994. Since their inception, Muse has been comprised of vocalist, guitarist and pianist Matthew Bellamy, bassist and backing vocalist Christopher Wolstenholme and drummer Dominic Howard.

Muse are renowned for their energetic and extravagant live performances. Muse are also known for their fusion of many music genres, including progressive rock, classical music and electronica. Muse will head out on a world tour behind “The Resistance,” including a few US shows with Silversun Pickups early next year. Muse revealed “The Resistance,” the outfit’s fifth studio effort, in September. The 11-track set topped album charts in 13 countries, including the UK and Australia, though in the US it landed at No. 3 on The Billboard 200. “The Resistance” follows 2007’s “Black Holes and Revelations” and 2003’s “Absolution,” the group’s breakthrough in the US. The band also released “HAARP,” a live CD/DVD set, in 2008

I recorded the show. Fairly good quality.

Download it here:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=N8OI8CFZ

ECHOS IN THE MOUNTAINS

I decided to take a little time off from both work and the house, heading up to Aspen Wednesday night with the plan to hike the 28 mile long four pass loop in the nearby mountains. It traverses over four high passes (each above 12,400 feet), crosses many streams, travels through several stunning basins, much of it above timberline, and yields awesome views of the highest peaks in the Elk Range. Four days set aside to complete this solo backpack trip, with the added goal of climbing 14,092 foot tall Snowmass Mountain. The weather started off threatening with light rain that turned to scattered snow showers, but that cleared up by the first evening, yielding beautiful blue skies, warm days and mild evenings.

Upon my arrival in Aspen on Wednesday, I chose to set up for the evening in the parking lot of the recreation center, cranking up the tunes and lighting up a cigar, far enough away from nearby homes so as not attract the attention of the police.


Considering the the time of night, there was only one performance, Echo & The Bunnymen's show on November 27, 2008 at the Echo Arena in Liverpool. Excellent recording from their "Ocean Rain" tour, playing their fourth album in it's entirety, along with many of their favorite classics. This show was about a month after having seen them in Los Angles, my first failed effort at bootlegging a live show.


This is what the local paper had to say about the show:

It's good to know that love can last the distance. And last night, at the ECHO arena, Liverpool showed its affair with Echo And the Bunnymen is as passionate as ever.

Thirty years since the band began, the Bunnymen’s live performance of Ocean Rain had been mooted as one of the must-see events of Liverpool’s year in the sun.
And quite rightly so.

The seminal 1984 album has been hailed as one of the finest pieces of work ever to grace two sides of vinyl.
And to hear it played in its entirety, with an orchestra, was always going to be something special.

But there was more. Following a support slot by Glaswegian bright young things Glasvegas the first half of the show was the band’s greatest hits, showcasing the great Bring on the Dancing Horses, Lips Like Sugar and Nothing Lasts Forever.

Peering through the omnipresent dry ice, Ian McCulloch was on form – one part Lou Reed, one part Oliver Reed, with a bit of Jim Morrison thrown in for good measure.

Thirty years since he and Will Sergeant met at Eric’s his voice is slightly more gravelly, his chuckle a tone lower. But he is unfeasibly cool, the inspiration for a whole generation of new artists.

With a back catalogue like that, it’s not hard to see why.

They defined the sound and atmosphere of the early 1980s with their hard-edged post-punk and dreamy melodic Doors-esque psychedelia.

Then, after an interval, came the sublime Ocean Rain.
The packed arena crowd lapped up every line.

As the haunting strains of Silver, Ocean Rain and The Killing Moon rang out, you could see every face in the crowd mouthing the words.

“It may not be the best album ever made,” proclaimed McCulloch between songs.

“But it’s a pretty good one.”

I couldn’t agree more.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/capital-of-culture/capital-of-culture-liverpool-news/2008/11/28/review-echo-the-bunnymen-echo-arena-100252-22361216/

Ancient sea exposed

Its inhabitants long gone

And soon so shall we

Green turns brilliant gold

Leaves carpet the forest floor

It snowed this morning

One piece at a time

Chips and flakes litter their feet

The mountains crumble

A beast of burden

In search of joyful beauty

Self inflicted pain

Autumn has arrived

The flowers have all turned brown

Seeds drift on the breeze