Post by orangehouseburn on Mar 23, 2007 10:53:55 GMT -5
Ah yes, I have given this recollection many times, but since I don't see any other posts from me talking about it- here it goes again...
It all began on a month-long road trip with a good friend touring the better half of the Western states in a 1982 maroon Cutlass Supreme Oldsmobile which had comfy seats and a cassette deck. We started the trip in So Cal, went to Nor Cal, drove through Oregon, saw Phish in Washington, drove through Idaho and Montana, kicked it in Yellowstone, and then headed to South Dakota. My friend and I had just driven from Mount Rushmore, through the farmlands of Nebraska, until late late at night, we reached our friend in Colorado Springs, CO. When we arrived, we knocked and found no answer. We peeked through the window, and there he was passed out on the floor of his rented studio. We called out his name again and again, but he was out cold. Then I took out my contact lense solution bottle from my travel bag, put the nozzle to the screen of the open window, and sprayed my passed out friend until he finally woke up. We said our hellos, had a sesh, and briefly talked about old times. At that point it was time to crash.
The next day, my Colorado Springs friend mentioned that it was his birthday tomorrow and that we should all do something fun. So my travelling friend and I chipped in on a ticket to see Tool, because that was the birthday dude's favorite band- one of them at least. Since Tool was playing at Lollapalooza, that's where we were going to go. Of course we knew James was playing there, and it was very exciting to see them for the 1st time ever. I knew my Colorado friend would want to see James, because I got him into the band when we lived in Holland the year before; moreover, we had listened to various James albums (Stripmining, Seven, Wah Wah, and BATBA) on a Eurorail trip that summer.
We drove up the mountains the next day to the southern part of Denver and wandered around the Lollapalooza fairgrounds at Englewood Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre. Man, it was pretty sad compared to the last time I had been to Lollapolooza '93 in So Cal when Primus and Alice in Chains had headlined with Timothy Leary hanging out in a tent. There were very few people, way too much security, and really not much of a place to wander. In any case, we were there, and to see James was huge. While waiting for the cool bands to start, I bought a nice Turtle tapestry for home and a gift for my then girlfriend who was not on the roadtrip. We had the list of bands playing on a sheet of paper that was given to us, and we knew that James was going to go on soon (4pm, I think). When we took our seats, a couple of Bob Marley's sons were singing on stage, and that was nice. Then when James came out, it was like beyond awesome. There must have been 8 of them on stage in shiny outfits that reminded me of Devo. The sound was good, and I was ready to savour every song. They played for 45 minutes, and Tim walked around in his neckbrace while most people acted like they had never heard of this band... well, it was true- James hadn't had radio play in a few years it seemed. In any case, Tim shook my travelling friend's hand while he was singing some song I don't know which. That August 10th 1997 day was a lot of fun. Oh and Tool played later and so did that band that sings "Firestarter." On the way home, it was raining cats and dogs and we made it home to Colorado Springs in a safe manner.
This August will mark the 10 year anniversary of that show, and with James still in a touring mode, they may hopefully make it back to the land named after Amerigo Vespucci.
It all began on a month-long road trip with a good friend touring the better half of the Western states in a 1982 maroon Cutlass Supreme Oldsmobile which had comfy seats and a cassette deck. We started the trip in So Cal, went to Nor Cal, drove through Oregon, saw Phish in Washington, drove through Idaho and Montana, kicked it in Yellowstone, and then headed to South Dakota. My friend and I had just driven from Mount Rushmore, through the farmlands of Nebraska, until late late at night, we reached our friend in Colorado Springs, CO. When we arrived, we knocked and found no answer. We peeked through the window, and there he was passed out on the floor of his rented studio. We called out his name again and again, but he was out cold. Then I took out my contact lense solution bottle from my travel bag, put the nozzle to the screen of the open window, and sprayed my passed out friend until he finally woke up. We said our hellos, had a sesh, and briefly talked about old times. At that point it was time to crash.
The next day, my Colorado Springs friend mentioned that it was his birthday tomorrow and that we should all do something fun. So my travelling friend and I chipped in on a ticket to see Tool, because that was the birthday dude's favorite band- one of them at least. Since Tool was playing at Lollapalooza, that's where we were going to go. Of course we knew James was playing there, and it was very exciting to see them for the 1st time ever. I knew my Colorado friend would want to see James, because I got him into the band when we lived in Holland the year before; moreover, we had listened to various James albums (Stripmining, Seven, Wah Wah, and BATBA) on a Eurorail trip that summer.
We drove up the mountains the next day to the southern part of Denver and wandered around the Lollapalooza fairgrounds at Englewood Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre. Man, it was pretty sad compared to the last time I had been to Lollapolooza '93 in So Cal when Primus and Alice in Chains had headlined with Timothy Leary hanging out in a tent. There were very few people, way too much security, and really not much of a place to wander. In any case, we were there, and to see James was huge. While waiting for the cool bands to start, I bought a nice Turtle tapestry for home and a gift for my then girlfriend who was not on the roadtrip. We had the list of bands playing on a sheet of paper that was given to us, and we knew that James was going to go on soon (4pm, I think). When we took our seats, a couple of Bob Marley's sons were singing on stage, and that was nice. Then when James came out, it was like beyond awesome. There must have been 8 of them on stage in shiny outfits that reminded me of Devo. The sound was good, and I was ready to savour every song. They played for 45 minutes, and Tim walked around in his neckbrace while most people acted like they had never heard of this band... well, it was true- James hadn't had radio play in a few years it seemed. In any case, Tim shook my travelling friend's hand while he was singing some song I don't know which. That August 10th 1997 day was a lot of fun. Oh and Tool played later and so did that band that sings "Firestarter." On the way home, it was raining cats and dogs and we made it home to Colorado Springs in a safe manner.
This August will mark the 10 year anniversary of that show, and with James still in a touring mode, they may hopefully make it back to the land named after Amerigo Vespucci.
