Steel Kaleidoscopes

Like a Rolling Stone?

 

My brother-in-law insists that the face in the 2 o'clock position in this photo is Keith Richards evolving from the rock.

Maybe if a cigarette butt was dangling from his mouth.

(Photo by Paul in Grahamsville, N.Y.)

Summer

Steamy, seamy sidewalks.

Light cotton dresses, heavy humid air.

Hazy, lazy beach day. Coppertone 4.

Aqua blue water, splashing, splashing.

Heinekens and glasses of grassy Sauvignon Blanc.

T-shirts, baggy shorts and lazy seagulls drifting aimlessly in the cloudless sky.

Steamy, seamy sidewalks.

First Concerts

Kenny Myers picked me up in his blue van with the tie-dyed curtains.

It was a warm spring evening in 1976, and we were on our way to the Poughkeepsie Civic Center to see Blue Oyster Cult, Styx and Beaver Brown.

It was my first rock concert.

I remember the surging crowd outside, swarming toward the entrance.

I remember the bright lights, the amplified sound (unlike anything I had ever heard before) and the anticipation between songs.

It was a defining moment, a space in time that set the course for a lifetime of music appreciation.

This week, I take my 4-year-old daughter to her first rock concert.

When she looks back, it's doubtful she'll remember too much about Govt. Mule in Boston, but perhaps she will.

There won't be a van with tie-dyed curtains transporting her.

But there will be a surging crowd and live music like she's never heard before.

I wonder if she'll like it.

I bet she will.

Quote of the Day

"When one has tea and wine, one will have many friends."

— Chinese proverb

Synthetics

Frogs.

Toads.

Lizards.

Boots.

Umbrellas.

Work Stress

"I got my eye on you Wazowski. You didn't get your paperwork done last night."

Abbey Road

 

 

Forty years later, Dan follows up with the band.

Quote of the Day

"Excellent wine generates enthusiasm. And whatever you do with enthusiasm is generally successful."

— Philippe de Rothschild

Classic Rock Pilgrimage

"When the rain comes, they run and hide their heads, they might as well be dead. When the rain comes."

— John Lennon, 1966

So I ran and hid my head. When the rain came.

I worked hard yesterday in the London office.

But I managed to get out by 6:15.

I headed back to the flat and splashed water on my face.

Then I bought a daily tube pass, got off at St. John's Ward, walked a few blocks to Grove End and saw the famed stripes of Abbey Road.

I took a walk. A friendly couple took my picture (forthcoming).

And then it rained. Not a downpour. But enough to soak my shirt and pants. And my glasses (non-John Lennon frames).

Then I took the tube to London Bridge for the traditional tourist stop (it's a bridge) before heading to North London via the Angel tube stop.

My mission: To find the diner where Jimmy and the mods hung out during the filming of "Quadrophenia," perhaps the best rock film ever made (and, most certainly, the best rock album ever recorded).

I had done some research and knew the diner was located on Essex Street. During the filming of the movie it was Alfredo's Cafe, but new ownership changed the name to the S&M Cafe.

Getting to the Angel tube stop was easy. The hard part was finding the damn cafe.

I went down some false roads. I was kind of lost.

I knew it wasn't cool to ask a stranger where the S&M Cafe was. So I kept the inquiry to Essex Street.

And I got good directions.

And there it was. A cafe that specializes in sausage and mash.

Neat.

The Who had come to life on this rainy Wednesday London night.

"We are the mods, we are the mods, we are the ... we are the ... we are the mods."

— Jimmy Cooper, 1964

Woodstock: 40 Years Gone

It's been 40 years since the event that defined the hippie generation and put tie-dyed shirts at the fashion statement forefront.

My friend Rick sent me this blog link with a recent photo of the couple that graced the Woodstock album cover and symbolized the spirit of the festival.

Seems fitting that the couple embraced in a blanket is still together 40 years later.

Neat.

The 25-year anniversary paled with its messaging, but the music was damn good.