I'll be out of touch all weekend. We have guests coming up so I'll be busy. I'm looking forward to this and hope nothing odd happens to ruin the weekend . . . the only current potential for that is H's big stupid dumbass idea that it would be fun to bait bears to hang around our property one night. During the Summer they wander by most nights and many nights wander onto the property but, he thinks it would be funny to put food out that will make them linger outside the bedroom windows of our guests.
I see it as a recipe for disaster so . . . I'm going to have to pull the bitch card and just tell him that he CAN'T.
Talk to you later.
Oh . . . and wish me luck.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Monday, July 24, 2006
Déjà vu
On July 14, 1974, I went to what is still, today, my favorite concert. The lineup was:
Crosby Stills Nash & Young
The Band
Joe Walsh
Jesse Colin Young
It was at the Oakland Coliseum and it was at what was known as a “Day on the Green” which meant it was held at the outdoor stadium. I was a little kid and was being taken to the concert by my older brother and sister and I remember being scared because I knew there were going to be hippies and drugs there.
I had pretty much worn out my copy of “4 Way Street” lying on the floor of my bedroom, with my head between the speakers – I would literally turn the speakers of my stereo so that they were inches from my ears – listening to it full blast over and over and over . . . getting up only to turn the records over. So when I heard they were coming, I blackmailed my brother and sister into taking me (of course, they were cool teenagers and didn’t want a little kid tagging along but that was better than me telling that they had taken me to Winterland a few years before to see Journey (then only a local band), Iron Butterfly, and Robin Trower). They convinced my mother that it would be okay because it was a daytime, outdoor concert. For some reason, this seemed less dangerous to her so she let me go.
We got to the Coliseum the night before to make sure that we’d get an up close location, on the green. We sat on the ground outside the gates with the hundreds of other people who had the same idea. Everyone was partying – drinking, smoking pot, etc. – and having a good old time. I sat there watching it all and thinking they were a bunch of dopes. A little after dawn, I told my sister that I felt weird and she ignored me (of course). A little later I told my sister that I felt REALLY weird and that the edges of my vision were getting dark, she realized I was about to faint so, stupidly, grabbed me and said, “Stand up! Walk it off!!” and we made it about 10 feet before my survival instincts kicked in and I remembered hearing about putting your head between your knees when you felt faint so . . . I wrenched my hand out of hers and sat down on the curb and did just that. It actually worked because I didn’t faint and after that I felt better.
So, we went back to our place in the quasi-line and sat back down. A little after dawn the natives became restless and decided to scale the fence and head for the building. It got pretty wild and people were climbing the fence and vaulting over and, being a little kid and a little freaked, I was just standing there looking up at the fence a little scared and trying to figure out what to do when some guy picked me up and literally tossed me over the fence to some other guy who, luckily, caught me. My sister and brother saw me flying through the air, found me again and each grabbed a hand and ran for the building, dragging me between them.
They didn’t open the gates for the concert until later that morning and, we did get a good place on the green, up front and center.
The concert was great. CSN&Y were in perfect voice and harmony. I remember that they each played for a bit solo, and then all together. The Band was great and I developed my lifelong crush on Robbie Robertson. Joe Walsh was great and Jesse Colin Young was good too although, the only song of his that I knew was “Light Shine” so, of course, that’s the only song I remember him playing.
In my memory they played until dark and I remember as the day went on, feeling more and more comfortable in my surroundings . . . the beginning of my addiction to concerts which I maintained until my early adulthood.
Flash forward 32 years and 8 days . . .
H and I were sitting in our seats, center stage, row 13 from the stage on a beautiful Summer evening . . . big blustery clouds in the sky (leftovers from the previous evening’s massive thunderstorm), sun just beginning to set and shining through the open spaces . . . deep oranges, reds, golds all lighting up the sky and . . . they walk out on stage and the lights hit them and . . . H and I turn to each other and say, “Man, they got OLD!!!”
The set was about 50/50 old and new songs. They performed old favorites like Ohio, Love the One You’re With, Teach Your Children, Wooden Ships, Guinnevere, Long Time Gone, Déjà vu, Helplessly Hoping, Southern Cross, Chicago, and Find the Cost of Freedom and a bunch of newer songs that I wasn’t familiar with (except, “Keep On Rocking in the Free World” which sounded so good that H was convinced it was dubbed but I convinced him it wasn’t).
I’m pleased to say that the old boys still had it in them . . . they played 3.5 hours (with a 15 minute break) and on many of the songs sounded great (see above) and they could still play the guitar but . . . the harmonies are most definitely not quite what they used to be. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that they were off-key on a couple of the songs and when they played “Love the One You’re With” . . . it was downright bad.
But, that said, it was a great concert. The weather was lovely, the company was even better and whether they sounded like their old selves or not, I could still sing along to every song and for once, no-one could tell I was singing off key.
Crosby Stills Nash & Young
The Band
Joe Walsh
Jesse Colin Young
It was at the Oakland Coliseum and it was at what was known as a “Day on the Green” which meant it was held at the outdoor stadium. I was a little kid and was being taken to the concert by my older brother and sister and I remember being scared because I knew there were going to be hippies and drugs there.
I had pretty much worn out my copy of “4 Way Street” lying on the floor of my bedroom, with my head between the speakers – I would literally turn the speakers of my stereo so that they were inches from my ears – listening to it full blast over and over and over . . . getting up only to turn the records over. So when I heard they were coming, I blackmailed my brother and sister into taking me (of course, they were cool teenagers and didn’t want a little kid tagging along but that was better than me telling that they had taken me to Winterland a few years before to see Journey (then only a local band), Iron Butterfly, and Robin Trower). They convinced my mother that it would be okay because it was a daytime, outdoor concert. For some reason, this seemed less dangerous to her so she let me go.
We got to the Coliseum the night before to make sure that we’d get an up close location, on the green. We sat on the ground outside the gates with the hundreds of other people who had the same idea. Everyone was partying – drinking, smoking pot, etc. – and having a good old time. I sat there watching it all and thinking they were a bunch of dopes. A little after dawn, I told my sister that I felt weird and she ignored me (of course). A little later I told my sister that I felt REALLY weird and that the edges of my vision were getting dark, she realized I was about to faint so, stupidly, grabbed me and said, “Stand up! Walk it off!!” and we made it about 10 feet before my survival instincts kicked in and I remembered hearing about putting your head between your knees when you felt faint so . . . I wrenched my hand out of hers and sat down on the curb and did just that. It actually worked because I didn’t faint and after that I felt better.
So, we went back to our place in the quasi-line and sat back down. A little after dawn the natives became restless and decided to scale the fence and head for the building. It got pretty wild and people were climbing the fence and vaulting over and, being a little kid and a little freaked, I was just standing there looking up at the fence a little scared and trying to figure out what to do when some guy picked me up and literally tossed me over the fence to some other guy who, luckily, caught me. My sister and brother saw me flying through the air, found me again and each grabbed a hand and ran for the building, dragging me between them.
They didn’t open the gates for the concert until later that morning and, we did get a good place on the green, up front and center.
The concert was great. CSN&Y were in perfect voice and harmony. I remember that they each played for a bit solo, and then all together. The Band was great and I developed my lifelong crush on Robbie Robertson. Joe Walsh was great and Jesse Colin Young was good too although, the only song of his that I knew was “Light Shine” so, of course, that’s the only song I remember him playing.
In my memory they played until dark and I remember as the day went on, feeling more and more comfortable in my surroundings . . . the beginning of my addiction to concerts which I maintained until my early adulthood.
Flash forward 32 years and 8 days . . .
H and I were sitting in our seats, center stage, row 13 from the stage on a beautiful Summer evening . . . big blustery clouds in the sky (leftovers from the previous evening’s massive thunderstorm), sun just beginning to set and shining through the open spaces . . . deep oranges, reds, golds all lighting up the sky and . . . they walk out on stage and the lights hit them and . . . H and I turn to each other and say, “Man, they got OLD!!!”
The set was about 50/50 old and new songs. They performed old favorites like Ohio, Love the One You’re With, Teach Your Children, Wooden Ships, Guinnevere, Long Time Gone, Déjà vu, Helplessly Hoping, Southern Cross, Chicago, and Find the Cost of Freedom and a bunch of newer songs that I wasn’t familiar with (except, “Keep On Rocking in the Free World” which sounded so good that H was convinced it was dubbed but I convinced him it wasn’t).
I’m pleased to say that the old boys still had it in them . . . they played 3.5 hours (with a 15 minute break) and on many of the songs sounded great (see above) and they could still play the guitar but . . . the harmonies are most definitely not quite what they used to be. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that they were off-key on a couple of the songs and when they played “Love the One You’re With” . . . it was downright bad.
But, that said, it was a great concert. The weather was lovely, the company was even better and whether they sounded like their old selves or not, I could still sing along to every song and for once, no-one could tell I was singing off key.
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