Heart, Reign O'er Me

The big show has come and gone. We dressed up, we hit concert traffic, we rocked out, and we drove home. What happened while we did all this was an outstanding show, and it deserves a recap.

Cheap Trick

Honestly, none of us really knew too much of their stuff. I have "at Budokon" but I'm really stumped after "I want you to want me" and "Surrender". We weren't the only ones there who weren't too savvy with our Cheap Trick, but I think we all were impressed. He busted out this five-neck for "Goodnight", but only played on two necks, as far as I could tell (from my seat in the grass). The guitarist tried talking a lot to make up for the lack of audience interest, but he sounded pretty bitter through it all was all. They sounded good, though, but that's all I can say.

Heart

Now, I know they have some really rockin' hits, but I never would have guessed, going into the night, that this would be such an amazing part of the show. They started the show with "Straight on to You" and shredded the guitar on "Magic Man" to really put the crowd in a good mood. They slipped into some softer stuff, playing "Dog and Butterfly" and "These Dreams", but then went into a synthesizer solo. I recognized the chords and went wild when I realized they were going to perform The Who's "Love Reign O'er Me". I went wild, and felt like the only one as I screamed the opening blood curdling "Love" with Ann Wilson. It was a great cover that did the real thing justice and rocked like it should.

They ended the set with "Barracuda", but of course came back for an encore. I was expecting them to play "Crazy on You" and go home, but Nancy came out with a mandolin and started plucking out Led Zeppelin's "Going To California". Great cover. Ann Wilson can sing like a man, and it's okay. It's awesome, actually. Those two covers really made the night for me. I was impressed.

Journey

Now for a band with a lead singer who's a man that sounds like a woman. Although the great Steve Perry may be done with the outfit, their new addition, Arnel Pineda, nailed the vocals all night long. It sounded like the greatest hits CD--but it wasn't. No, since Pineda's return the group has put together a newly released album, and played a few tracks from that. The new stuff actually didn't sound that bad, and I'm seriously considering buying it.

Aside from the promotional tracks, every song was a hit. From "Don't Stop Believing" to "Any Way You Want It" Journey rocked as the audience sang along, but my favorites were deep tracks "Stone in Love" and "Escape". Journey doesn't get enough credit for their rock-out abilty, what with ballads like "Lights", "Open Arms", "Faithfully" and "Send Her My Love", but Neal Schon can play that guitar. They certainly proved to be the main attraction, but left me a little miffed when they left without playing "Lovin', Touchin' Squeezin'". If not for their great altogether show, I would have left so angry. But I'm okay. Just not as good as I could have been.

Overall, I give the show 4 out of 5 guitars. Good game.

The Weblog

I used to have a newsletter that I sent out every week to all my friends and relatives. It included a little about me and a lot about current affairs in news, sports and entertainment. People enjoyed it, it was funny, writing it was the highlight of my week. But as I decided to spend more time with my schoolwork, the newsletter took up too much time, so I had to set aside my newsletter writing until I learned to balance things better.

Time passed and the requirements of education only became more time-consuming. Recently, I have found myself reading weblogs of friends, and have decided that they can be quite entertaining. So I said to myself, "Hey, Keith. You're entertaining. Why not entertain?" So I joined the ranks and created my own weblog.

You may notice that I use the root of the word 'blog'. My public relations professor used it when we had a class discussion on them and I thought it was funny.

The most difficult part so far about the weblog was choosing a title. For me, it had to be music related. Not sports, not politics, but it had to be music. I had many ideas, all of which were taken. It came down to a select few. I really liked "Elementary Penguin Singing Hare Krishna" (from I Am the Walrus), but chose "The Misty Mountain". Misty Mountain Hop by Led Zeppelin seems to be about getting high in a park, then having a run-in with the police and "packing my bags for the misty mountains where the spirits go now/over the hills where the spirits fly". It is a reference to the misty mountains of J.R.R. Tolkien, also known as Hithaelglir. It is where Bilbo found Gollum and got the ring. But for the purpose of naming my weblog, I refer back to track 5 of Led Zeppelin's fourth album, Misty Mountain Hop.

Sometimes we need to go to where everybody knows your name, but sometimes you just need to go over the hills where the spirits fly. When you read my posts on The Misty Mountain, you might have just left a run in with the police or one last dance with Mary Jane, or maybe you're going on the High Pass with dwarves on the Quest of Erebor and get captured by goblins or taking the Redhorn Pass with the Fellowship and turn around because of a blizzard summoned by a Benedict Arnold of a wizard who sold his soul to the evil one. Maybe you'll come away with a precious, and you just can't pass up an opportunity like that.