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Jesus fuckin' Christ, man ---- you got me misty-eyed with that heartfelt eloquence!
Just when I was gettin' kinda bummed about the Cleveland show being postponed indefinitely ---- not to mention the cunt nugget Smegma McHaggis chiming in about it like a douche ---- I done read your thoughts and it picked me up like a speedball and a really good hum job.
Enjoy the show ---- may the beer be cold ---- your wife be in a frisky mood ---- and the Mighty Halen destroys your eardrums and puts a perma-shit-eater grin on your face for weeks !!
Just when I was gettin' kinda bummed about the Cleveland show being postponed indefinitely ---- not to mention the cunt nugget Smegma McHaggis chiming in about it like a douche ---- I done read your thoughts and it picked me up like a speedball and a really good hum job.
Enjoy the show ---- may the beer be cold ---- your wife be in a frisky mood ---- and the Mighty Halen destroys your eardrums and puts a perma-shit-eater grin on your face for weeks !!
It’s a rock and roll kind of day.
Those who remember reading my album review for Van Halen’s most recent effot, ‘A Different Kind of Truth,’ will recall my definition of a rock and roll kind of day. A rock and roll kind of day is when you wake up and EVERYTHING somehow relates to Van Halen. These are special days indeed – reserved for those monumental occasions that for time out of mind were few and far between with our favorite band (and even those sometimes ended in heartbreak). But I choose to focus on The Now – with Van Halen, it pays to appreciate what you have, while you have it, such as David Lee Roth reentering the VH fold in 2007; a highly successful reunion tour; years later a new single being released. Then we had tons of teasers followed by the first Van Halen album in nearly 30 years – plus unprecedented access to the band via video diaries, interviews, and more. And The Now: Van Halen playing in my proverbial back yard. Strike that. These are not mere occasions. These are historic EVENTS; defining moments in our lives that remind us what it’s like to truly be alive and at least still trying to kick ass four decades on.
Yes, indeed, folks – it’s a rock and roll kind of day. How do I know it’s a rock and roll kind of day? Well, a rock and roll kind of day is when you wake up and say: “I’m going to see Van Halen tonight!” and realize that you will actually be in the same room with the Toastmaster General, David Lee Roth, the king of six strings and ten fingers, Eddie Van Halen, his progeny, Wolfie, and big brother, Al. It’s when you dig out your old VH concert t-shirt and ticket stubs that you keep in the cedar chest at the foot of the bed (and they SMELL like cedar now, which adds to the charm), throw all seven Van Halen albums in the gassed and waxed mini-van (plus a couple extra bootlegs for good measure), double check that you have your tickets in the pocket of your favorite pair of rock and roll jeans (the ones with the knees blown out and indecent gaps in the ass), and hit the ground running wearing your outdated (but still cool) mirrored shades that your wife makes fun of, and head to the show of shows.
Ladies and gentleman – I know it’s a rock and roll kind of day because Van Halen is my desktop pattern. It’s my iPhone wallpaper. It’s the color of the shoes on my feet and the protective case of my phone. It’s on the wall of my garage and in the Frankenburger on my kitchen counter top. It’s my ring-tone. It’s my web browser. It’s on the radio. It’s on the TV. It’s worn proudly on my chest for all to see. And yes – bear with me as I get a bit mawkish and overly sentimental - it’s in my blood and it’s most definitely in my soul. No other band can arouse this kind of youthful belligerence. No other concert can bring to life that rebellious teenage ego that lies dormant for years on end – slowly losing energy, identity, and purpose as the toils of grown-up life wilt it and sap it of its youthful beauty and strength, insisting that we grow up, goddamnit, and act our age.
Van Halen nourishes and renews that teenager – and every time he blooms again, I think it just might be the last; for he seems to get harder and harder to remember with each passing year. But one Van Halen concert is all it takes to reacquaint me with my true self. I’ve bloomed again, maybe for the last time – who knows? But for one brief night I’m a teen again. I’m young and wild, loud and obnoxious (I pity those with seats next to mine.) It’s a rock and roll kind of day, and I thank the universal deity of your choosing for that. Without Van Halen, I might forget forever the fearless, wise-ass kid I used to be. Without Van Halen, I might drift away into the ether of corporate America dominated by greed and money and stress and responsibility. The hair may be gray, the joints may constantly ache – but the heart is forever young when Van Halen takes the stage.
Soon this rock and roll kind of day will turn into a rock and roll night (you know: the kind of night where you have to make bail for half your road crew!), and no words can adequately express my joy. I feel compelled to thank Dave, Wolf, Ed, and Al without even hearing a single note played – which seems absurd, but that’s the power of their music, the magic of their collective presence in the same room, on the same stage. Tonight is my night to bloom again – just as it was the night for all the other lucky souls who have caught previous shows on this tour, and for those attending tonight’s show in St. Paul, MN with me. For a couple of brief, glorious hours, we will be young again.
In the liner notes of ‘A Different Kind of Truth,’ Dave says: “Thanks for the dream.” I think that pretty much says it all. Let me reciprocate, if I may. Thank you Van Halen – thanks for living the dream. Because in doing so you have demonstrated unequivocally that dreams do come true, and that as long as your music plays, we just may never have to grow up and act our age!
Here’s to a rock and roll kind of night with the mighty VAN HALEN!
Stay frosty.
Those who remember reading my album review for Van Halen’s most recent effot, ‘A Different Kind of Truth,’ will recall my definition of a rock and roll kind of day. A rock and roll kind of day is when you wake up and EVERYTHING somehow relates to Van Halen. These are special days indeed – reserved for those monumental occasions that for time out of mind were few and far between with our favorite band (and even those sometimes ended in heartbreak). But I choose to focus on The Now – with Van Halen, it pays to appreciate what you have, while you have it, such as David Lee Roth reentering the VH fold in 2007; a highly successful reunion tour; years later a new single being released. Then we had tons of teasers followed by the first Van Halen album in nearly 30 years – plus unprecedented access to the band via video diaries, interviews, and more. And The Now: Van Halen playing in my proverbial back yard. Strike that. These are not mere occasions. These are historic EVENTS; defining moments in our lives that remind us what it’s like to truly be alive and at least still trying to kick ass four decades on.
Yes, indeed, folks – it’s a rock and roll kind of day. How do I know it’s a rock and roll kind of day? Well, a rock and roll kind of day is when you wake up and say: “I’m going to see Van Halen tonight!” and realize that you will actually be in the same room with the Toastmaster General, David Lee Roth, the king of six strings and ten fingers, Eddie Van Halen, his progeny, Wolfie, and big brother, Al. It’s when you dig out your old VH concert t-shirt and ticket stubs that you keep in the cedar chest at the foot of the bed (and they SMELL like cedar now, which adds to the charm), throw all seven Van Halen albums in the gassed and waxed mini-van (plus a couple extra bootlegs for good measure), double check that you have your tickets in the pocket of your favorite pair of rock and roll jeans (the ones with the knees blown out and indecent gaps in the ass), and hit the ground running wearing your outdated (but still cool) mirrored shades that your wife makes fun of, and head to the show of shows.
Ladies and gentleman – I know it’s a rock and roll kind of day because Van Halen is my desktop pattern. It’s my iPhone wallpaper. It’s the color of the shoes on my feet and the protective case of my phone. It’s on the wall of my garage and in the Frankenburger on my kitchen counter top. It’s my ring-tone. It’s my web browser. It’s on the radio. It’s on the TV. It’s worn proudly on my chest for all to see. And yes – bear with me as I get a bit mawkish and overly sentimental - it’s in my blood and it’s most definitely in my soul. No other band can arouse this kind of youthful belligerence. No other concert can bring to life that rebellious teenage ego that lies dormant for years on end – slowly losing energy, identity, and purpose as the toils of grown-up life wilt it and sap it of its youthful beauty and strength, insisting that we grow up, goddamnit, and act our age.
Van Halen nourishes and renews that teenager – and every time he blooms again, I think it just might be the last; for he seems to get harder and harder to remember with each passing year. But one Van Halen concert is all it takes to reacquaint me with my true self. I’ve bloomed again, maybe for the last time – who knows? But for one brief night I’m a teen again. I’m young and wild, loud and obnoxious (I pity those with seats next to mine.) It’s a rock and roll kind of day, and I thank the universal deity of your choosing for that. Without Van Halen, I might forget forever the fearless, wise-ass kid I used to be. Without Van Halen, I might drift away into the ether of corporate America dominated by greed and money and stress and responsibility. The hair may be gray, the joints may constantly ache – but the heart is forever young when Van Halen takes the stage.
Soon this rock and roll kind of day will turn into a rock and roll night (you know: the kind of night where you have to make bail for half your road crew!), and no words can adequately express my joy. I feel compelled to thank Dave, Wolf, Ed, and Al without even hearing a single note played – which seems absurd, but that’s the power of their music, the magic of their collective presence in the same room, on the same stage. Tonight is my night to bloom again – just as it was the night for all the other lucky souls who have caught previous shows on this tour, and for those attending tonight’s show in St. Paul, MN with me. For a couple of brief, glorious hours, we will be young again.
In the liner notes of ‘A Different Kind of Truth,’ Dave says: “Thanks for the dream.” I think that pretty much says it all. Let me reciprocate, if I may. Thank you Van Halen – thanks for living the dream. Because in doing so you have demonstrated unequivocally that dreams do come true, and that as long as your music plays, we just may never have to grow up and act our age!
Here’s to a rock and roll kind of night with the mighty VAN HALEN!
Stay frosty.
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