tonight the maiden gets crossed off

i have a list…

…a list of bands i’ve always wanted to see. but there are stipulations.

i want original members.

pink floyd, for example, will never happen. i don’t need the original lineup with syd – but i’d want the fantastic four…gilmour, waters, wright, and mason. but wright’s dead. so i’ll never get to see them. all four kiss guys are still alive, but gene did what i consider the ultimate “fuck you” to two of his former band mates: he replaced them.

i get replacing weak links or total fuck-ups in band. all well and good. but kiss isn’t just members; they’re characters. and in the past the “characters” would change when members did. they got rid of peter and ace in the 80’s and replaced them with new guys, who all had new characters. but the “new” kiss has gene and paul, same makeup and outfits as always, but then they have two new guys who dress up as ace and peter’s characters.

that’s fucked up. so i won’t go see them. JAB doesn’t care, and wanted to go see them and crue on his fortieth. if we could have gotten free seats i’d go to that. but i won’t PAY for it with half the band a bootleg version in my opinion.

i saw van halen with roth in 2008 with JAB and that was cool. we’d seen van hagar on his 21st. i’d been to at least one other VH show with him since but never with roth; and he’d never seen them in the roth era, so even though we didn’t get michael anthony on bass we go roth and not one, not two, but THREE van halens…to me that was a good compromise.

but before i was into depeche mode or the cure or new order or even duran duran, who pre-dated all of those, was iron maiden. DAMN i was into them back in the day. but i wanted the same lineup they had for the albums i liked, and now we’ve got it and tonight they’re in san antonio.

and i’ll be there…oddly enough, in almost the same seats i saw van (roth) halen with JAB. so i can cross maiden off the list. saw depeche with the four lineup that made all the albums i liked. caught the original five duran members twice on the one tour they’d done together since live aid in 1985. now i can cross maiden off. that’s the last of the biggies from where i’m sitting.

on a side note, this fall run dmc play a festival near my place sans jam master jay. i’m sorry, but that’s just blasphemy. i won’t go to that entire festival just ’cause of that bullshit.