MUSIC LIGHTS UP THE NIGHT

Friday night and the start of another weekend!

I drove out the my prairie parking spot where I cranked up Van Halen on the truck stereo. As I was parking I observed a full moon rising above the eastern horizon. A stiff wind was blowing steadily out of the east, requiring that I park in a manner that allows the truck to act as a wind break or else I'd quickly freeze.

First up was an audience recording of Van Halen's October 20, 1991 show at the Buffalo War Memorial in Buffalo, New York. A good quality recording, during which Sammy was especially chatty with the audience, but the recording quality was not good enough for me to understand much of what he said. This show was part of their tour promoting the most recent release their F.U.C.K album. Three years had gone by since they last toured, Sammy apologizing for the delay in their return. The band performed well, just wish it were a better recording.

After ten o'clock
Music breaks his earthly bonds
Flies high overhead

Feel the music's fire
Sharing a common passion
Two lives overlap

Horizon's faint glow
Amber light marks its ascent
The orange full moon

Winter stars depart
New ones mark Springs arrival
One more year older

Download it here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QPECMFTX

Next up was Echo & The Bunnymen's show at the Toronto International Centre on August 23, 1984. An excellent recording, both with regard to sound quality and the bands performance. The men from Liverpool were in their prime! This tour followed the release of Ocean Rain, probably the pinnacle of their work before the band was to split apart and lose its drummer to a motorcycle accident. Ocean Rain peaked at number four in Britain, while the record became the Bunnymen's first album to chart in the U.S. Top 100.

For this show I put on the headphones with the portable CD play so that I could savor the wonderful sound of the band performing at their best.

Eddie cranks the amps
Nothing subtle 'bout his sound
Feel the raw power

Cold rock in the sky
Bright orb circles endlessly
Long after we're gone

Take six simple strings
Transformed into pure emotion
Like lead into gold

Will's eye gaze downward
Intently plays his instrument
Sound so sensual

Download it here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SY84LQK1

PEOPLE OF ASPEN ROCK TO THE BUNNYMEN

Very little additional snow had fallen over night. Had breakfast in Aspen and then drove to Aspen Highlands for a day of "powder" skiing. About a foot of snow had fallen since closing the day before, all of it a heavy, wet snow the consistency of whipped cream cheese. But it was good carving, spending the day on the slopes on the upper half of the mountain. Snow coming down all day, adding to the accumulation underfoot. I shut the place down, one of a few to take the last lift ride up and enjoy the fresh, soft snow, making graceful turns on slopes that belonged only to me.

Dinner in Aspen, catching a movie to kill some time before the concert. Fast and Furious with Vin Diesel. I wish I could live in their world where there were no police to make one slow down.

After the movie I was prepared to head up to the pass, but I had an urge to walk the late night streets, where people were still traveling between bars, on streets and sidewalks under a frozen layer of slick ice. I took the camera along and shot pictures of the "people of Aspen".

Step into the store

A salesman stands there waiting

Price far out of reach

Posh mountain resort
Winter playground for the rich

Rows of private jets

Ski season ends

The rich seek other pleasures

Empty trophy homes

Drove out to the end of the road below Independence Pass, parking the truck in the turnout covered with about six inches of snow. Due to the late hour and being tired from a day of skiing, I chose not to do Van Halen this Saturday night, opting for a solo appearance by Echo and The Bunnymen. The concert chosen was their live appearance at The Kilburn National, in London on the 17th October 1997. This concert was broadcast by the BBC, and this is a very good quality FM stereo recording of the gig. I loved it, dancing in the snow outside the truck, stars poking through the clouds overhead.

It was 1997:

Will Sergeant, Ian McCulloch and Les Pattinson were back together in a recording studio for the first time in ten years, completing a new album, 12 new songs. This was not so much a reformation but more like a continuation of where they left off some nine years previously.

The band made their live return in the UK on May 14 at Cream (where else but in Liverpool), followed by a month of dates in America, a mixture of their own shows and prestigious radio festivals including K-ROQ in Los Angeles where they shared a bill with their new contemporaries - Oasis, Blur and Radiohead. Live reviews attest to the Bunnymen's triumphant return:"It's impossibly good. The first comeback in history not to be dogged by a nauseous sense of distress, the first one to actually sound important."

"It's not really nostalgia 'cos over half the set is new and - here's the punchline - the new songs are as good as the old songs and probably better than almost anything you'll hear this year." (Melody Maker)

The Bunnymen had achieved what no other band has achieved, a comeback that is commercially, conceptually and critically on a par with their great historic past achievements.

Evergreen, the LP was released on July 14th which charted in the top 10.

The brighter side of the Bunnymen was shown for the world to see, far more open and as relevant as any band yesterday or today. This was Echo & The Bunnymen in 1997, as good as ever - maybe even better. A history to die for and a future to live for. By December, Evergreen had produced two further hits: Don't Let It Get You Down and I Want To Be There (When You Come), a UK tour in October was a sell-out everywhere, culminating in two capacity nights at London's Kilburn National. In America they toured extensively, including further major radio festivals and their own headline shows. In certain quarters people were now talking about the Bunnymen's achievements in 1997 as the greatest comeback since Elvis.

Download it here:

http://rapidshare.com/files/47807061/Kilburn_National_1997.rar.html

Skied Snowmass on Sunday. Colder temperatures overnight ensured the snow was a true powder, at least ten inches new on the slopes. Great carving, finding easy stashes everywhere I went. Blue skies above, although alow clouds blocked the ususally stunning view of the Maroon Bells from the top of the Elk Creek lift.

Was back in Dener by 7 PM feeding the kids. NOt yet positive, but this trip may mark the end of my ski season. Play time is over. God, now I got to start thinking about residing the front of the house!!