VAN HALEN IN CONCERT!!

ORLANDO JUMPS!! 2/14/08
Christmas on Valentines Day...a night with Van Halen and my Baby! Whew what a night!

This was actually my 2nd VH show, the first was them opening for the Rolling Stones at the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando 10/24/81. We drove all the way up from Miami, for an amazing show. Stones were great, Van Halen was great, and the Henry Paul Band was pretty amazing too.
A few songs into that show, David Lee said (speaking to the press box down front)..."Do you know what the first thing the press here in town is going to write about this show in tomorrow's paper?...How F@#K'd UP VAN HALEN was! (the crowd cheers)...and you know what the second thing they are going to write is? HOW F@#K'd UP THE AUDIENCE WAS!! (the crowd goes nuts!) ...well, this one's for THE PRESS!" David the moon's the press box, and the band kicked into So this is Love? Awesome.
There were several other things I remember well about that show. Michael Anthony played the most incredible bass solo I've ever heard, and the Stone's stage went to the sides of the football field, then had runways that went down to the 20 yardline on either side, but the access to the was roped off by Mick. David Lee said screw that, and used the whole stage!

Below is a typical setlist for that Fair Warning tour in 1981
(The last two dates of the tour they were opening for the Stones in Orlando
- the last time VH would open the show for anyone!).

On Fire
Sinner's Swing!
Hear About It Later
So This is Love?
Jamie's Cryin'
Runnin' With The Devil
Dance the Night Away*
Sunday Afternoon in the Park
Romeo Delight
Everybody Wants Some!!
Ice Cream Man
Mean Street
Feel Your Love Tonight
I'm the One
You Really Got Me
Unchained
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love

Last night in Orlando was pretty damn amazing as well! The hardest rocking concert I'd seen in years! The band kicked things off with a very loud "You Really Got Me", and ripped right into vintage VH "I'm The One". By the third song "Runnin' With The Devil", I was not sure if I could handle the volume!...they sounded great, but my stomach was churning (possible from anticipation and lack of food because of it), but anyway, two more songs in was an amazing "Somebody Get Me me a doctor" and then "Beautiful Girls", as I was singing along I just had to laugh at myself..and started to chill!












The Guys looked and sounded great. The stage was kinda different, looking like a big S that rose over the drum kit in the back, and into the crowd in the front....David and Wolfgang used it to full advantage, mostly David. Full of energy as always, you could tell he was happier than a pig in shit to be fronting his band again! As it should be. Next to him, Eddie (and Valerie Bertinelli's) 16 year old son Wolfgang (playing bass) seemed to have the best time. Eddie even seemed to be fine sharing some mic time with Dave.
At the midway point Alex took a long (and excellent) drum solo. Sometimes drum solos seem old fashioned these days, but not when it's expertly handled and with much innovation as big brother Van Halen did.













At the hour and a half mark, the boys said good night, but I knew it wasn't over! As the lights were down we heard the strumming of an acoustic guitar, but ibn the shadows it didn't look like Eddie...could it be Dave? Yes! The lights came up, and he went into a rap about their old hometown Pasdena...stories of girl friends, black lights, beer kegs, early gigs and ice cream trucks. Telling of how he would always promise a young latin beauty that he would play her favorite song for her at the next show if she would only come home with him tonight! He then kicked into the opening licks of one of my all time fave's "Ice Cream Man"..and the band came out and kicked ass!
















After a rockin' "Panama", it was Eddie's turn. He came out, bare chested, and sat at the edge of the stage and played a lengthy (and rippin') guitar solo that included "Women in Love" intro, "Cathedral", "Eruption". Wow! Jennifer, who's not usually keen on loud screaming guitars sat mesmerized as the camera man zoomed in on Eddie fingers & smiling face - beaming it up on the big screen. When he ended he pretty much got a standing ovation. Flawless! They kicked into "Ain't talking 'bout Love", and said good night again.







photos by Java John






When the band came back to wrap up the night, they played "1984" and "Jump"...not my favorite of VH songs, byut they were awesome last night....the mirror ball lite up, Dave grabbed a blow-up microphone twice his size, and enough confetti came down to blanket the place. Hell Yeah! What a great show.

I've only got a few pieces of advice for the band...turn it down just a few notches (lots of compliants for folks in certain part of the crowd. AND stay friendly with each other! This is THE Van Halen line-up, and the world would love to hear more NEW music...and see more tours. Maybe for his 18th birthday Eddie will give Wolfie his own solo!!

ORLANDO February 14th 2008 Setlist
(the tix were a great Christmas present - Thanks Bill!).

You Really Got Me
I'm the One
Runnin' With the Devil
Romeo Delight
Somebody Get Me a Doctor
Beautiful Girls
Dance the Night Away
Atomic Punk
Everybody Wants Some
So This Is Love?
Mean Street
Pretty Woman
Drum Solo
Unchained
I'll Wait
And the Cradle Will
Rock Hot for Teacher
Little Dreamer
Little Guitars
Jamie's Cryin'
Ice Cream Man
Panama
Guitar Solo
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love

Encore
1984
Jump

Below are afew MP3 treats that I gathered for other blogs. Namely: Music Is Music, Rock Music Daily, and Here Comes The Flood. Check 'em out.

Hot For Teacher, LIVE 1984

VanH - HotForTeacher.mp3

You Really Got Me, LIVE 1978

VanH-YouReallyGotMe.mp3

LGrange(!), LIVE 1976

VanH-lagrange.mp3

VAN HALEN

And the GRAMMY goes to.....

WOODY GUTHRIE!!
Congratulations for winning the Best Historical Grammy for The Live Wire - Woody Guthrie 1949 Performance to Nora Guthrie and all the folks who worked on this wonderful project!

Well I made about 25 Grammy picks here the other night, and it looks like I got 9 right, and three of those (Alicia, Chaka, and Prince were purely guesses having not heard the material)...here are my winning picks:

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals - Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On) - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Best Pop Instrumental Performance - One Week Last Summer - Joni Mitchell
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance - No One - Alicia Keys
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance - Future Baby Mama - Prince
Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals - Disrespectful - Chaka Khan Featuring Mary J. Blige Best Traditional Folk Album - Dirt Farmer - Levon Helm
Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
- Love - (George Martin/The Beatles)
Best Historical Album - The Live Wire - Woody Guthrie In Performance 1949

...of all of these, the Woody Guthrie pick was the one I was the most excited about! Last year I had the pleasure of interviewing members of the Guthrie Family - Arlo, Nora (producer of this disc), and Sarah Lee (Arlo's daughter, and fine folk artist in her own right). I also chatted with Woody's cohort Pete Seeger (soon to be 89 yrs old!). We all discussed lots of things over the course of four hours, but the thing that captivated me the most was the announcement of this newly found wire recording from 1949 (the only known live performance of Woody in existence), and a tour by Arlo and Family to back it up.

From the Woody Guthrie website: It all began in 2001, when a man named Paul Braverman sent a small package containing 2 spools of wire recordings to the Woody Guthrie Archives in New York City. He had discovered them while cleaning out his closet. He had made the recordings while a student at Rutgers University, using a small wire recorder which was briefly used in the late 1940's. He was a recording hobbyist and often recorded events and programs held by the Y in the late 40's and early 50's....read more

After the interviews, Arlo invited my wife and I down to West Palm Beach for the February 9th stop of THE GUTHRIE FAMILY LEGACY TOUR...Whew! What a night. Arlo was awesome as always, but what a treat to see him joined on stage by his family - daughter Sarah Lee (and her husband Johny Irion), son Abe, and granddaughter Olivia (Sarah and Johnny's girl). To close out the show, the first generation joined them when they debuted a clip from Woody's LIVE WIRE performance...I don't think there was a dry eye in the house! Though he had never heard his daddy perform in concert, the two of them have almost exactly the same humorous, rambling, happy go lucky vibe on stage!

One of the highlights of the night for me, was Sarah Lee and Johnny. I'd seen Arlo about four times before, but never Sarah. We had had her booked in our coffeehouse six years earlier, but she had to cancel after learning she was pregnant with Olivia. They were perfect this particular night.

my woody portrait
















Here are a few snips of the Interviews I did with Arlo & Nora Guthrie, and Pete Seeger on January 30th, 2007. And a track off of the The Wire: Woody Guthrie CD.

Woody Guthrie from LIVE WIRE: Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ.mp3

chatting with Arlo Guthrie

ArloIntro-coffeshop-familyTour.mp3

chatting ith Arlo 2

Arol-On-Pete&Woody.mp3

chatting with Nora Guthrie

Nora about Woody 1.mp3

chatting with Pete Seeger

PeteAboutArlo.mp3

WOODY GUTHRIE

ARLO GUTHRIE

SARAH LEE GUTHRIE and JOHNNY IRION

PETE SEEGER

GRAMMYS

THIS WEEK IN BEATLE HISTORY!

First off, I want to send a big Thank You to Denise over at the Handmade Department Store blog for running a feature on me and my art today! Very kool. Check her out...it's a new blog, and a great concept promoting artists!

On the heels of two more Grammys last night for the LOVE soundtrack (congratulations Beatles, George Martin & team), I thought we would check out some of the heady Fab Four history that takes place in the middle of February.











2008 2 GRAMMYS!
Best Surround Sound Album: The Beatles, Love -- Paul Hicks, surround mix engineer; Tim Young, surround mastering engineer; George Martin & Giles Martin, surround producers (The Beatles) [Apple/Capitol Records]

Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: Love (The Beatles) George Martin & Giles Martin, producers, Apple Records/Capitol Records. (Also nominated but not winning: Across the Universe.)

* NASA beams an MP3 of the Beatles' "Across the Universe" to Polaris, aka the North Star, a transmission that will take 431 years to reach its intended destination. The broadcast is a publicity stunt to variously commemorate the 50th anniversary of the space agency itself, the 45th anniversary of its Deep Space Network, the 40th anniversary of the song's recording—and the DVD release of director Julie Taymor's Beatles-based film musical of the same name.

1982, George Harrison presented UNICEF with a cheque for $9 million (£5.3 million), ten years after the fundraising concert for Bangladesh.

1981, John Lennon was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Woman', his third No.1 in seven weeks.

1972, Paul McCartney's Wings played the first night of a UK College tour in Nottingham; the group arrived unannounced asking social secretaries if they would like them to perform that evening.

* The Official Beatles Fan Club is dissolved.

* John Lennon and Yoko Ono started a week long run as co-hosts on 'Mike Douglas' US TV show.

1970, John Lennon performed 'Instant Karma', on BBC TV's 'Top Of The Pops', becoming the first Beatle to have appeared on the show since 1966.

1969, Over Paul McCartney's objections, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr hire controversial record industry accountant Allen Klein to manage the Beatles. McCartney counters by naming his father-in-law's legal firm Eastman and Eastman as his personal manager and corporate counsel of Apple. The rift will lead to the band's dissolution a year later.

* John and Yoko were featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, on sale for 35 Cents, (2/6). John was named as Rolling Stone’s ‘Man Of The Year’.

* a launch party was held for Mary Hopkin at the Post Office Tower in London, guests included Jimi Hendrix, Donovan and Paul McCartney with his new girlfriend Linda Eastman.

1968, The Beatles record "Lady Madonna," "The Inner Light," and "Across the Universe."

1967, The Beatles recorded the orchestral build-up for the middle and end of ‘A Day in the Life’. At the Beatles' request, the orchestra members arrived in full evening dress along with novelty items. One violinist wore a red clown's nose, while another a fake gorilla's paw on his bow hand. Others were wearing funny hats and other assorted novelties. The recording was filmed for a possible ‘Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band’ television special which was ultimately abandoned.

1965, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr married his long-time girlfriend Maureen at Caxton Hall Register Office in London. John and George attended, Paul was away on holiday.

1964, Pan Am flight 101 was greeted by over 5,000 Beatles fans as it arrived at New York's JFK airport, bringing The Beatles to the US for the first time and causing riotous scenes as they touched down.

* The Beatles made their US live debut on CBS-TV's 'The Ed Sullivan Show'; they performed five songs including their current No.1 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' watched by an estimated 73 million people. The show had received over 50,000 applications for the 728 seats in the TV studio.

* The Beatles made their live concert debut in the US at the Washington Coliseum. Over 350 police surrounded the stage to keep the 8,000 plus screaming fans in control. One police officer who found the noise so loud, stuck a bullet in each ear as ear plugs. The Beatles had to stop three times and turn Ringo's drum kit around and re-position their microphones so that they faced a different part of the audience. The set list: ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘From Me to You’, ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘This Boy’, ‘All My Loving’, ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’, ‘Please Please Me’, ‘Till There Was You’, ‘She Loves You’, ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’, ‘Twist and Shout’, and ‘Long Tall Sally’.

1963, in less then ten hours, The Beatles record ten new songs for their first album plus four other tracks which would be the next two singles. John Lennon's vocal on The Isley Brothers 'Twist & Shout' was recorded in one take to complete the album.

1961, The Beatles appeared at The Cavern Club, Liverpool, for the very first time (as The Beatles), they would go on to make a total of 292 other appearances at the Club.


1958, George Harrison joined Liverpool group The Quarrymen. The group who were named after Lennon's school featured John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Len Garry, Eric Griffiths and John Lowe.







my portrait of George

I'm going to include a few Harrison treats tonight, since his is the earliest entry in tonight's Beatle History....

The Pirate Song; Aired December 26, 1975, Rutland Weekend Television

George Harrison - The Pirate Song (Rutles).mp3

with Jools Holland

George Harrison - Horse to water.mp3

demo recording

George Harrison - Beware of Darkness (acoustic).mp3

GRAMMYS

BEATLES

GEORGE HARRISON

JOOLS HOLLAND

Handmade Department Store