LIVE WITHOUT A NET AT TWENTY THOUSAND FEET

The planned trip to New York with my son had arrived! Saturday morning on the 6th of September I was watching the news to learn what the weather may look like as we travel across the country. Didn't look good. Tropical storm Hanna had hit the coast in the Carolina's early in the morning and was racing northward. We were headed for a collision course over New York City.

The flight was uneventful until we got to the eastern half pf Pennsylvania. The clouds that were so far below had enveloped the plane in featureless white outside the window. Then the turbulence began. My heart sank when the pilot announced that LaGuardia Airport was temporarily closed and that he'd be making a series of right hand turns as he circled waiting, in the tropical storm. The passengers were bracing for the worst. The turbulence was bad enough to cause many passengers to pull out those little bags and fill them with the contents of their stomachs. Others commented that they flew a lot and this was the worst flight of their life. I reassured my son that things would be alright while I had a white knuckled grip on the seat. The pilot eventually announced that he had clearance to land and we descended towards the airport. A steady view of the ground was not encountered until we were less than 500 off of it. The plane landed and the passengers breathed a sigh of relief and broke out in applause. We were allowed to live another day.

Shaking and dropping
Twenty thousand foot plane ride
The air smells of puke

Troublesome Hanna
Our first date above New York
White knuckled affair

Window shows but white
Rain's stream drawn across the glass
Plane feels the storm's bounce

The following day my son and I borrowed my sister's car and spent the day at Smith's Point on Fire Island. The heavy rain of the night before was replaced by warm sunny skies. However, the surf was wild from the advance of Hanna up the coast, big waves lined up and breaking a quarter mile out off shore. The surfers ventured out that distance to catch a ride, everyone else going no farther than the pounding surf right along the shore. The waves approached, sucked out all the water and then curled up and pounded the sand, sending out a rush of frothed up water that carried enough sand and shell to sandblast ones legs. We brought the boogie boards and threw ourselves into the waves, riding high up onto the beach. The day was spent alternating between stays in the relatively warm water and enjoying the sun on the sand. I got a bit too much and fried my chest and parts of the back that my son missed smearing me with 15 SPF. My other sister brought over dinner that evening which we ate with a few cold ones.

Monday the 8th was a repeat of the previous day: on the beach, sunny day, less wind but the surf had mellowed only a little bit. With no lifeguards, the county police were patrolling the beach, discouraging people from entering because they had already rescued several people that morning. We stayed in the surf right along the beach, riding the boogie boards. Like yesterday, we headed home around 6 PM, stopping to have a Carvel ice cream on William Floyd Parkway, something I fondly remember doing while growing up on the Island.

Storm's waves pound the shore
Cast white foam upon the sand
Feel thunders damp spray

Green wall rises up
Curls over upon itself
Thunders frothy spray

Row upon loud row
Sun glinting off the wave crests
Feels their salty spray

Far off the sand beach
On crests of storms breaking waves
Surfer dudes on boards

Sand beach day dreaming
Different times and places
Castles in the sand

Sea green walls march in
Tumble of frothy whiteness
Shout their arrival

Flashing silver light
Reflect the afternoon sun
The sea's surface shimmers

Walls of boiling white
Row upon row they advance
Foam sheets lap the shore

After a dinner of chicken fajitas, my son found the DVD player and zoned out with that device while I walked down the road to a private beach along Lake Panamoka, a body of water that filled a depression in the sand created by a giant block of ice melting off the face of the continental ice sheet that covered the area 18,000 or so years ago. No truck this time, but I did bring the portable CD player and the BOSE headphones. Dropped in "Live Without A Net", Van Halen at the Veteran's Memorial Coliseum in New Haven ("New Halen") CT on August 27, 1986. This is a concert someone ripped from the DVD of the same name. Great sound quality, from the early days of Van "Hagar" when Sammy was new to the band. Great collection of songs off of their newly released no. 1 hit album, "5150". The band was in top-notch form that evening. I sat there on the sandy beach rocking out with cigar and flask of tequila, looking at the distant lights from homes across the lake. Stumbled back to my sisters house late, finding everyone fast asleep. I dropped into the foldout couch that turns into a bed. Just like that Seinfeld episode, this bed also has a hard board that runs across the width of the bed, right where it crosses the small of the back. Sleeping on my side helps minimize its impact on my spine.

Vast ice block's footprint
Lakes last bergs have long melted
Where turtles now swim

They wait all evening
Patient for an eruption
To hear Eddie play

SAMMY UNPLUGGED

Late afternoon on Sunday my son and I drove to the trail head of Gray's and Torries Peaks, two side-by-side fourteen thousand foot mountains not far from Denver. I wanted him get his first experience hiking up one of these tall peaks, these two being one of the easiest to climb. We arrived at the trail head shortly before sunset and hiked a mile in growing darkness, finding a campsite alongside the trail in the pitch black night. Shortly after setting up the tent and laying out our bags, the rain joined the wind and buffeted the tent all night long. I always sleep poorly at altitude and so this night was excruciatingly long, the wind and rain being particularly loud.

We got up early and joined the throngs of people who were making the pilgrimage to summits. I went easy so that this would be a relatively fun experience for Eric. After a few hours of slow and steady, we made it to the summit wind swept Gray's peak. With a headache and not feeling up to the task, Eric decided not to cross over to Torries Peak. Saving that for another day. The hike down is always easy, and after picking up our camping gear we made it back to the truck by 2 PM and in the front door by 4:30. I enjoyed being outdoors, away from house projects and even downloading music.

Wind battered tent
Cold pelting rain through the night
Snug inside our bags

Darkness approaches
Cold, damp clouds shroud the summits
Deep breaths with each step

Tents loud flapping
Bumpy ground, shortness of breath
Awfully long night

Clouds dart past the peaks
Driven by cold gale force winds
Touch the deep blue sky

Crowds reach the summit
Surrounded by wilderness
Out come the cell phones

I had brought a cigar with me on the hike, but no lighter. So I smoked the stogie at home outside shortly after sunset. After taking one swig of tequila, I popped in Sammy Hagar unplugged, playing before a Boston crowd in 1997 on behalf of a radio station promoting his new album Marching To Mars. This was shortly after his split with Van Halen and at a time when they had just signed on Gary Cherone. Unlike the other members of Van Halen, Sammy had to fulfill contractual obligations to his old record label (Geffen Records) and so he was periodically pumping out albums even while playing for Van Halen. Marching To Mars was, I believe, the last solo album with new songs that he produced.

Sammy was playing "unplugged": acoustic guitar accompanied by piano and lite percussion instruments. Sounded like a small venue, but the crowd was wild for Sammy, chanting for him throughout the short performance. He rapped with the audience between each song, similar to what he did while with Van Halen, explaining where each song came from. Finish What Ya Started and Right Now were part of the set list, both from VH days. Nice easy listening, unlike the full throttle power of Van Halen. Some quotes from Sammy:

"At least you're gonna hear all the lyrics"

"Whole notha trip playin' like that, come'on guitar help me out!"

And at the end he thanked his two man crew and said "Thanks Gary Cherone, hope he does a great job for that band."

Sounded like he was partying the whole gig! He was really enjoying himself.

BRUCE QUESTIONS WHAT'S RIGHT NOW

Spent the day dividing my time between working on the master bedroom, preparing a linoleum block for printing and downloading VH music. I was hoping to watch a movie later in the evening so I wanted something short and sweet so I picked another VH studio album, this time For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, also know as the F.U.C.K. album. It was released on June 17, 1991, debuting live on national radio from Eddie's studio on June 13, 1991. Apparently the band wrote enough songs for a double album, but their producer convinced them to finish enough songs for one album and release it. According to Wikipedia:

The album's title came from lead singer Sammy Hagar, who wanted to push the issue of censorship with naming Van Halen's album with a vulgarity, stating, "That's when censorship was a big issue. I wanted to name the album just Fuck." Hagar eventually backed away from the outright vulgarity after he was (mis)informed by his friend, former world lightweight boxing champion Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, that the word "fuck" was an acronym for the phrase "for unlawful carnal knowledge." Their tour promoting the album was named F.U.C.K. 'n' Live.

The album itself was marketed as the "return" to Van Halen's rock roots, with most songs being guitar driven, and the synth sounds being replaced by pianos, as the synth sound had become very dated by the time of the album's release. This can be prominently heard on "Right Now," the most popular song from the album.

Another great album that reached number 1 on the charts shortly after its release. Although a short 51 or so minutes long, I prolonged the joy by playing my favorite tracks several more time to savor them a bit longer, including Judgement Day, Right Now, 316 and Top Of The World. I love it!!

Colossal planet
Red spot swirls through banded clouds
A glint in my eye

Music from the stage
Play to the sea of faces
They've come to party

He leads the rock band
A voice that we do not hear
Six strings sing for him

Tonight's movie was a favorite of mine, 12 Monkeys with Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt and Madeleine Stowe. Excellent science fiction thAT bounces between the present and the future. Wikipedia says: "Twelve Monkeys is an Academy Award-nominated 1995 sience fiction film directed by Terry Gilliam and written by David and Janet Peoples. The film deals with time travel, madness and memory and is inspired by the French short film La Jetee." A must see.

BACK THEN IS RIGHT NOW

Friday night marks the end of another work week with not much to show for it. Nothing new to report. A buddy of mine who I go telemark skiing with tore his ACL in his knee playing racquetball, requiring surgery in the near future. There goes his ski season!

I went black widow hunting one night this past week. Bunches of them live in the sandstone retaining wall in front of the house. At night they emerge from the cracks and seams in the rock to sit in the center of their web. Squashed with a broom or foot. My philosophy is generally live and let live, but these suckers always find their way into the house, like the one I also killed in the garage right near the entrance to the house.

I've been downloading bunches of boots this past week. It's definitely an obsession that's consuming gobs of times.

The Democratic National Convention was in town this past week. Here's a "news" piece that came out in the Rocky Mountain News early in the week. The author was comparing which celebrities are appearing at the DNC vs. who's showing up at the Republican National Convention next week. Unfortunately Sammy appears to be on the losing end. Looks like he's not so cool anymore. But when I pop in that bootleg CD of the band playing in 1988, 1993 or 1995, he's the man in my eyes! But he still stands in Eddie's shadow. Click to enlarge in order to read.

Last night while watching the news with McCain announcing his choice for VP, I instantly picked up the fact that the music they used to highlight the occasion was Van Halen’s “Right Now”. From the Van Halen News Desk:

John McCain used a Van Halen song during his big speech earlier today and the band wants to make to make one thing clear — they’re not running with McCain. Van Halen management tells us the band had no idea McCain was planning on using “Right Now” during his big entrance in Ohio telling us, “Permission was not sought or granted nor would it have been given.”

For the record, Dubya used the same song during a bunch of his campaign speeches back in 2004, but sources close to the band tell us, “They’re not political, they’re just rock and roll.”

I like the comment that follows, written by “Cabo” :“When McCain introduced Sarah Palin as his running mate they should have used “Running With The Devil” as the entrance song!”

http://www.vhnd.com/2008/08/29/mccain-uses-right-now-without-permission/

Back to the 2004 reunion tour this Friday night! July 22, 2004 in St. Paul MN at the Xcel Energy Center. Good audience recording and the band put on a good show too. Sammy sounded a little hoarse and its clear he can't hit the same high notes that he could in his youth. Eddie put on a decent show, sticking to the standard set during his guitar solo. Not much chatter with the audience, the usual plugs for St. Paul and being a great audience. This two hours kept me out until well after midnight.

The end of August
Summers wind starts to grow cold
Blows his graying hair

Universe above
Two feet stand firm on the ground
He's lost in his head

Echos in the dark
Crickets heard throughout the night
Sing for one season

Remember this picture of Eddie from an earlier post? Well I found some more joke shots others created and posted on the web. Enjoy.

NEW JERSEY CHANTS FOR EDDIE

Another week has gone by and so much still to get done. Times are busy both at work and at home. But whats most important is that I ran across several more Van Halen bootleg recordings from the 1990's, some that appear to be very good quality. I feel like I hit the jackpot whenever that happens because I'm really enjoying the Sammy era concerts. If I were to stop looking for bootlegs today, I easily have enough music to last me the remainder of the year, two per weekend.

I met with the new physical therapist last Wednesday. I'm really confident in his ability to diagnose the problem and provide the necessary exercises to make me whole again. I've been following his orders and doing at least two sets of shoulder strengthening and stretching exercises each day. For the first time I have some hope that I can beat this thing without having to go under the knife. What's great about that is it means there is a good possibility I'll have a decent ski season this year. Just got to keep working at it with that in mind.

I prepare this entry Sunday evening. Earlier in the day I picked up the kids from the local water park and we drove home beneath a very dark thundercloud which was beginning to release its heavy load of rain. Climbing a hill on the way back we noticed cars stopped on the side of the road, people looking west, cameras in hand. That meant only one thing - tornado! I confirmed it and we pulled over, the kids and I jumping out to view the scene to the west. Hanging beneath the black edge of the storm cloud was a slender funnel cloud that stretched all the way to the ground, kicking up clouds of dirt. It then seemed to break up and then reform, even darker than before. It broke up and we continued on our way when the kids noticed that it had reformed even bigger and blacker than before. Looking in the opposite direction, we noticed a second tornado hanging from the cloud, with a detached dirty funnel down on the ground. I was expecting one to drop down from directly above because we were on line, beneath the darkest part of the cloud. Eventually the two broke up and we drove the rest of the way home where the rain and hail began and dumped for over an hour. The drainage running across our property turned into a muddy stream with all the water coming down the hill above our home. The news on TV were all talking about the tornado's in the area and the strong line of storm clouds that produced them. The kids were thrilled by the whole event, just as I was.

Friday night was a bust for a Van Halen concert: it was raining and the kids had to be up early for a martial arts tournament. However, I was faced with no such constraints Saturday night so it was a "go" for a concert. I picked Van Halen live at the Garden State Art Center in Holmdel, New Jersey where they played on July 16, 1995. A very good audience recording during which the vocals and instruments were loud and clear. They went through the first 20 minutes without Sammy saying anything between songs, just ripping through the music. During Why Can't This Be Love Sammy handed the mike over to both Eddie and Michael. Way back when Eddie and Alex had formed their band Mammoth Eddie acted as both lead singer and guitarist. Listening to him tonight, it's clear why Eddie gave up singing lead vocals and a year later hired Diamond Dave, allowing Eddie to focus on what he does best, play guitar. Another year later they hired Michael and shortly thereafter changed their name to Van Halen. The rest is history!!

The crowd called for Eddie during the encore. With one exception (calling for Dave shortly after Sammy took over from him in 5150 time), they never call out for anyone else in the band. They know who Van Halen's heart and soul is.

A nice cool evening, the lights of Denver shining bright to the northwest. I drained the whole flask and was reluctant to return home because I was still flying after the music came to an end.

Summer storm fronts pass
Cold hard rain drenches the dry ground
Tall peaks dressed in white

Thunderstorm long gone
From below the horizon
Distant lightning's flash

Cusp breaks the horizon
Reflects the suns distant light
Orange moon rising

One mouse click away
Virtual door is opened
Musical gold mine

Seeks his weekend fix
Seen shaking in nights shadow
The junkie dances

Drawn to the music
Thousands fill the stadium
Band counts the millions

The gates have opened
Greeted by heaven's angel
Eddie Van Halen

Time for an encore
A fired up crowd wants some more
Chanting for Eddie