Happy Friday everyone! As mentioned on last week’s episode, Harrison and I are taking this week off. Instead of an episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden tonight, we are re-running the debut MarriedandHeels episode, in solidarity with our friend and former co-host who needs some support today.
The topic everyone is talking about is the new Iron Maiden Run For Your Lives tour setlist. Harrison and I are itching to talk about it with you, and we will. Soon, we’ll be recording a bonus episode to talk about this new set.
I hope everyone else is doing well this week, and we’ll see you soon once again on 50 Years of Iron Maiden.
See below for our fun and frivolous “setlist speculation” episode from a few months ago.
I’m a bit of a perfectionist. I felt our episode on The First Ten Years box set by Iron Maiden was longer and more comprehensive. Harrison also felt the episode deserved some expansion. That’s why we did a live post-show chat after 50 Years of Iron Maiden last night.
An informal but semi-formatted chat, Harrison and I showed off a Japanese printing of the Purgatory / Maiden Japan CD that we forgot to show on the actual episode. We also brought you some interesting facts from the fine people at Reddit. This live bonus chat really is an essential part of the actual bonus episode. That sounds confusing, but you know what I mean.
We also delved a little into the solo careers of Blaze Bayley (thank you @darcyska for the question) and Bruce Dickinson. That tangent took us to the Ripper era of Judas Priest, and a discussion of the bleak 1990s. We foreshadowed some coming episodes in 50 Years of Iron Maiden. Next week will be a live show, and the first 50 Years of Iron Maiden episode to come to you live from the cottage. We are doing Maiden England next.
As an added bonus we, re-told the story of how I acquired this holy grail of a box set. We also ran a clip (Inception-style) that didn’t make it into our 100th episode, and finally a very special video showcasing the comedy of Jex Russell.
Thanks for watching, a shout-out to Henry Wright, John Clauser, Chris Sarre, Melissa Nee and D’Arcy Briggs for the comments. We’ll be back for more soon.
Check out the full show below.
In 1990, Iron Maiden reissued all their 20 singles/EPs (except The Soundhouse Tapes) individually, on CD and vinyl. Each CD and record held two singles/EPs. The only missing track was “Wrathchild” from Maiden Japan, which will be discussed in the episode. But what about the box itself? You could send away a special coupon for the box that holds them all, for either CD or vinyl formats. As the fortunate owner of this box set, we has to cover it in this bonus episode.
“Running Free” & “Sanctuary”
1. “Running Free”
2. “Burning Ambition”
3. “Sanctuary”
4. “Drifter” (Live in 1980)
5. “I’ve Got the Fire” (Live in 1980) 3:14
6. “Listen With Nicko! Part. I”
“Women in Uniform” & “Twilight Zone”
1. “Women in Uniform”
2. “Invasion”
3. “Phantom of the Opera” (Live in 1980)
4. “Twilight Zone”
5. “Wrathchild”
6. “Listen With Nicko! Part. II”
“Purgatory” & “Maiden Japan (EP)
1. “Purgatory”
2. “Genghis Khan”
3. “Running Free” (Live in 1981)
4. “Remember Tomorrow” (Live in 1981)
5. “Killers” (Live in 1981)
6. “Innocent Exile” (Live in 1981)
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. III”
“Run to the Hills” & “The Number of the Beast”
1. “Run to the Hills”
2. “Total Eclipse”
3. “The Number of the Beast”
4. “Remember Tomorrow” (Live in 1981)
5. “Listen With Nicko! Part. IV”
“Flight of Icarus” & “The Trooper”
1. “Flight of Icarus”
2. “I’ve Got the Fire”
3. “The Trooper”
4. “Cross-Eyed Mary”
5. “Listen With Nicko! Part. V”
“2 Minutes to Midnight” & “Aces High”
1. “2 Minutes to Midnight”
2. “Rainbow’s Gold”
3. “Mission From ‘Arry”
4. “Aces High”
5. “King of Twilight”
6. “The Number of the Beast” (Live in 1983)
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. VI”
“Running Free” (Live) & “Run to the Hills” (Live)
1. “Running Free” (Live in 1985)
2. “Sanctuary” (Live in 1985)
3. “Murders in the Rue Morgue” (Live in 1984)
4. “Run to the Hills” (Live in 1985)
5. “Phantom of the Opera” (Live in 1984)
6. “Losfer Words (Big ‘Orra)” (Live in 1984)
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. VII”
“Wasted Years” & “Stranger in a Strange Land”
1. “Wasted Years”
2. “Reach Out”
3. “Sheriff of Huddersfield”
4. “Stranger in a Strange Land”
5. “That Girl”
6. “Juanita”
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. VIII”
“Can I Play With Madness” & “The Evil That Men Do”
1. “Can I Play With Madness”
2. “Black Bart Blues”
3. “Massacre”
4. “The Evil That Men Do”
5. “Prowler” (1988 Version)
6. “Charlotte the Harlot” (1988 Version)
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. IX” McBrain
“The Clairvoyant” (Live) & “Infinite Dreams” (Live)
1. “The Clairvoyant” (Live in 1988)
2. “The Prisoner” (Live in 1988)
3. “Heaven Can Wait” (Live in 1988)
4. “Infinite Dreams” (Live in 1988)
5. “Killers” (Live in 1988)
6. “Still Life” (Live in 1988)
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. X” McBrain
Welcome to a short episode this week, as we already covered every one of these songs in our comprehensive series to date. Without going over all the songs again, Harrison and I revisited the best Iron Maiden box set that money could buy: The First Ten Years.
In 1990, Iron Maiden reissued all their 20 singles/EPs (except The Soundhouse Tapes) individually, on CD and vinyl. Each CD and record held two singles/EPs. The only missing track was “Wrathchild” from Maiden Japan, which will be discussed in the episode. But what about the box itself? You could send away a special coupon for the box that holds them all, for either CD or vinyl formats. As the fortunate owner of this box set, we has to cover it in this bonus episode.
Check it out and let us know in the comments if you’ve ever seen this box set before in the flesh!
Airing Friday May 16 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube.
BONUS! Harrison and I will be LIVE tomorrow night at 7:15 PM E.S.T. after the show airs, to talk to you, add information, and tell more stories about this incredible box set! Don’t miss the post-show chat!
Live stream launches Friday May 16 at 7:15 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:15 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy onYouTube andFacebook.
“Running Free” & “Sanctuary”
1. “Running Free”
2. “Burning Ambition”
3. “Sanctuary”
4. “Drifter” (Live in 1980)
5. “I’ve Got the Fire” (Live in 1980) 3:14
6. “Listen With Nicko! Part. I”
“Women in Uniform” & “Twilight Zone”
1. “Women in Uniform”
2. “Invasion”
3. “Phantom of the Opera” (Live in 1980)
4. “Twilight Zone”
5. “Wrathchild”
6. “Listen With Nicko! Part. II”
“Purgatory” & “Maiden Japan (EP)
1. “Purgatory”
2. “Genghis Khan”
3. “Running Free” (Live in 1981)
4. “Remember Tomorrow” (Live in 1981)
5. “Killers” (Live in 1981)
6. “Innocent Exile” (Live in 1981)
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. III”
“Run to the Hills” & “The Number of the Beast”
1. “Run to the Hills”
2. “Total Eclipse”
3. “The Number of the Beast”
4. “Remember Tomorrow” (Live in 1981)
5. “Listen With Nicko! Part. IV”
“Flight of Icarus” & “The Trooper”
1. “Flight of Icarus”
2. “I’ve Got the Fire”
3. “The Trooper”
4. “Cross-Eyed Mary”
5. “Listen With Nicko! Part. V”
“2 Minutes to Midnight” & “Aces High”
1. “2 Minutes to Midnight”
2. “Rainbow’s Gold”
3. “Mission From ‘Arry”
4. “Aces High”
5. “King of Twilight”
6. “The Number of the Beast” (Live in 1983)
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. VI”
“Running Free” (Live) & “Run to the Hills” (Live)
1. “Running Free” (Live in 1985)
2. “Sanctuary” (Live in 1985)
3. “Murders in the Rue Morgue” (Live in 1984)
4. “Run to the Hills” (Live in 1985)
5. “Phantom of the Opera” (Live in 1984)
6. “Losfer Words (Big ‘Orra)” (Live in 1984)
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. VII”
“Wasted Years” & “Stranger in a Strange Land”
1. “Wasted Years”
2. “Reach Out”
3. “Sheriff of Huddersfield”
4. “Stranger in a Strange Land”
5. “That Girl”
6. “Juanita”
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. VIII”
“Can I Play With Madness” & “The Evil That Men Do”
1. “Can I Play With Madness”
2. “Black Bart Blues”
3. “Massacre”
4. “The Evil That Men Do”
5. “Prowler” (1988 Version)
6. “Charlotte the Harlot” (1988 Version)
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. IX” McBrain
“The Clairvoyant” (Live) & “Infinite Dreams” (Live)
1. “The Clairvoyant” (Live in 1988)
2. “The Prisoner” (Live in 1988)
3. “Heaven Can Wait” (Live in 1988)
4. “Infinite Dreams” (Live in 1988)
5. “Killers” (Live in 1988)
6. “Still Life” (Live in 1988)
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. X” McBrain
Please welcome back bicyclelegs, from the YouTube channel bicyclelegstalksmusic! He is the first guest to make a return visit to 50 Years of Iron Maiden. He got to talk about two of his favourites, Powerslave and now Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.
It’s another historic Iron Maiden album. Not just songs with common themes about topics such as “time”, but this time Iron Maiden completed their first and only full concept album. The topic was quite esoteric: a seventh son of a seventh son. Such people, born from an unbroken line of seventh sons without daughters in between, were rumoured to posses powers of healing or foresight. What if such a character found himself a pawn in a game of power between good and evil? Not every song on this album is a sequential part of the story, but together we try to walk you through the plot and the twist ending.
Musically, Iron Maiden were using keyboards, which caused some controversy. Though Bruce Dickinson was back in the game and contributing songs and lyrics for the first time in four years, it was a time for change. One member of the band found himself unhappy on tour, and the band’s longtime cover artist was also frustrated with his artistic expression. We cover all this tonight on the show.
Not only that, but as usual you can count on us to cover all the B-sides* (and one unique A-side). Physical product will include an original Seventh Son vinyl, a multitude of singles including a shaped picture disc, and of course CD. As per our custom, Harrison will walk us through the setlists for the tour.
Can I Play with Madness? Scream for us, YouTube, and enjoy this comeback episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden.
*The only B-sides we will not include in this episode are the tracks from “Infinite Dreams”, which were all re-released on Maiden England, a future live episode.
Airing Friday May 9 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube.
50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 11: Somewhere In Time
With special guest Peter Kerr
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #101
Exit Pharaohs…enter synth!?
Please welcome Peter Kerr from Rock Daydream Nation to this epic episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden. Now that we are done with the 100th Episode festivities, we can get back to celebrating the 50th anniversary of Iron Maiden. After the lengthy Powerslave tour and resultant live album Live After Death, one member of Iron Maiden was completely burned out. The new album would be the first since The Number of the Beast to lack a Bruce Dickinson writing credit.
Not that this major detail held anything back. Bruce’s singing was still lung-burstingly powerful, and the band were writing amazing songs…this time with guitar and bass synthesizer. It was a controversial decision, but our panel was not phased. Check out what we have to say about all eight tracks, and all four B-sides.
We also take a serious deep dive into the album artwork, without any help from Wikipedia or other sources.
As usual, we close the show with Harrison’s deep dive into the tour (Somewhere On Tour) and setlists.
Scream for us, YouTube, and enjoy this comeback episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden.
Airing Friday May 2 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube.
RECORD STORE TALES #1173: I Like Iron Maiden…A Lot
In 1984, I “rebooted” my musical taste and started from ground zero. Out went Styx for almost two decades. Out went Joey Scarbury, and Kenny Rogers. In came KISS, W.A.S.P., and of course, Iron Maiden. I don’t think there was ever a time that Iron Maiden were my #1 favourite band, because Kiss almost always held that spot. It is safe to say that Maiden were always in the top five.
In grade school, I rocked Iron Maiden while being scolded by Catholic school teachers for doing so. It didn’t stop me. Through highschool, I proudly had their posters in my locker. It didn’t matter that Maiden weren’t hip with the cool kids. I was never cool, and never really intended to be. I was happy to be one of the Children of the Damned, not having to fit my personality into any particular shoebox.
There was a time I wavered, which I shall now admit to you. There was one Iron Maiden album that I didn’t intend to own. I reversed my decision within four months, but it was in the fall of 1990 that Iron Maiden may have faltered in my eyes. The album was the “back to basics” No Prayer For the Dying. My favourite member, Adrian Smith was out. I loved Janick Gers’ work with Bruce Dickinson, but I don’t think he quite fit with Maiden immediately. I also didn’t like the growly, un-melodic way that Bruce Dickinson was singing. I thought maybe this time, I would just buy the CD singles, and not worry about the album. I came to my senses. No Prayer wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the return that we hoped for. I didn’t really want Maiden to get “back to basics” but was willing to go along for the ride.
My enthusiasm returned in 1992 with Fear of the Dark, a partial return to form with some solid tracks. It could have been better, but I was happy. Then the roof fell in. Suddenly, Bruce Dickinson was out. Meanwhile, the entire world had been sent into a grunge upheaval. Bands like Iron Maiden were dismissed as irrelevant in this new angry world. Bands who played their instruments with seasoned pride were being replaced by groups with punk aesthetics. Maiden seemingly had no place in this new world, and now the lead singer was gone. Just like Motley Crue, who were suffering a similar fate.
By the year 1999, Bruce was back. And so was Adrian. Maiden have never been bigger. They have continued to issue albums, never being shy to play new material and deep cuts live.
That’s why I’m telling you this story. 2025 marks 50 Years of Iron Maiden, and there will be a lot happening. 2025 will launch the Run For Your Lives tour, and Bruce has promised that they will play some songs they’ve never done before. It will also be the debut of new drummer Simon Dawson, from Steve Harris’ British Lion. Nicko McBrain, on the drum stool since 1983, has finally taken a bow from the live stage. It can’t be easy doing what he does.
BRUCE DICKINSON – “Resurrection Men” (2024 BMG CD single)
The Mandrake Project is a dense album. It takes a lot of time to absorb and understand. The concept goes way over my head, but the songs are heavy and the direction is metal. Bruce Dickinson is nothing if not ambitious, and of course that means taking the new album on the road. His live band this time out includes the always reliable Dave Moreno on drums, and Whitenake bassist Tanya O’Callaghan. Bruce has released two singles from the album with exclusive B-sides, and the second is “Resurrection Men”.
“Resurrection Men” is long for a single, at almost six and a half minutes. It is loaded with drama, and the acoustic intro really sets a mood. Then it goes into something more western, like from a Clint Eastwood film, with interesting percussion. That soon subsides and we go full electric. This song lunges all over the place, from slow grinding verses to quiet bass-driven parts, and a powerhouse chorus. Ultimately it’s not really single material, but that’s one thing that makes this release so interesting. It’s also impressive how Bruce continues to sing with such lung power.
Live from Sao Paolo comes “Afterglow of Ragnarok“, the first single from The Mandrake Project. A song about “what happens after the end of the world,” according to Bruce. It is tight, and does not deviate far from the original cut. The live setting is unforgiving, but even without multitracked vocals, Bruce nails it. The stage energy is palpable, and Moreno kills it on drums.
The most exciting track is the very first live version of “Abduction” from Tyranny of Souls. This one absolutely smokes, with breakneck pace, lightning drum fills, and melodic guitar harmonies. A lot of solo Bruce stuff could almost be considered Iron Maiden made modern, louder and more intense. “Abduction” falls into that category. This live version has some really cool guitar solo work, very different from Roy Z’s on the album.
It is truly wonderful to see artists such as Def Leppard, Deep Purple, and Bruce Dickinson releasing physical singles with actual B-sides in 2024. Keep it up.
In 1992, we gave Iron Maiden’s Fear of the Dark album a generous 3.75/5 star rating. Fear was the second in a row of underwhelming Iron Maiden albums. After losing melodic songwriter Adrian Smith, the band struggled to achieve the heights of Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. New member Janick Gers was also a songwriter, but Maiden struggled to match their previous mojo. Several songs from Fear were never played live: “Fear Is the Key”, “Childhood’s End”, “The Fugitive”, “Chains of Misery”, “The Apparition”, “Judas Be My Guide”, and “Weekend Warrior”. Meanwhile, the title track is a concert staple, played on almost every tour since.
What can we do to improve this album?
1. Tone down the keyboards
As the last Maiden album co-produced by Martin Birch, perhaps the metal maven was getting a little tired. Fear isn’t as punchy as past albums. Since Somewhere in Time, Maiden had become increasingly reliant on synths or keyboards. Even the back-to-basics No Prayer for the Dying had keyboards. Let’s not get rid of all the keyboards, let’s just tone them down. On some tracks, such as “Afraid to Shoot Strangers”, they are little more than sonic wallpaper. Let’s mix them a little lower for this experiment, and bring the drums up in the mix.
2. Remix the drums
Something about Nick McBrain’s drums on this album sound a little dead. A tad too much like they’re in the back of a cave. We should try making them a little more lively, and maybe just a tad louder in the mix. Aim for something more like the Piece of Mind era drums sound.
3. Edit the album down, and re-sequence it
Let’s go for a nine track song list. Clearly, the 12 on Fear were too many since they didn’t play the majority live. Fear was a long album. As the CD rose to dominance, albums grew longer. CDs were initially made to be 74 minutes long so you could put long classical pieces on it without breaks. 74 minutes was never intended to be the standard album length, though Fear is shy of that at 58:34. Still too long for a single record. Classic Maiden albums were shorter than this. We’ll go with nine songs. Number of the Beast had eight, and Piece of Mind had nine. Fear already had the perfect openers and closers, so we won’t touch those.
Side one
“Be Quick or Be Dead”
“Chains of Misery”
“From Here to Eternity”
“Judas Be My Guide”
“Wasting Love”
Side two
“Afraid to Shoot Strangers”
“The Fugitive”
“Weekend Warrior”
“Fear of the Dark”
It was a real struggle to include “Weekend Warrior”, as I don’t think this ode to soccer hooliganism is a particularly good song. However, I committed to nine, and I find “Fear is the Key” and “The Apparition” a tad dull. “Childhood’s End” is the other deleted song, and really it could have been one or the other. I went with “Weekend Warrior” because it’s different for Maiden. (Not that “The Apparition” isn’t, but these songs aren’t really that great. That’s why they weren’t played live.)
We maintain the kicking opener, high speed and going for the throat of big business. Then we have anthemic shout-along rock in “Chains of Misery”. “Wasting Love” acts as a side closer as it does on the proper album. Kicking off side two with “Afraid to Shoot Strangers” is a bit of a risk, as it is a bit ballady to start, and coming off a ballad gives you two in a row. However, it would work brilliantly as a side opener. “Fear of the Dark” of course should close. That’s what it’s built for.
This makes the album a perfect 44 minutes and 24 seconds!
4. Get rid of the tree Eddie!
Regular Maiden artist Derek Riggs had a falling out with Maiden’s management over his sketches for this album. Instead, for the first of many times, Maiden went with the legendary sci-fi and fantasty artist Melvyn Grant, who didn’t really understand Eddie yet, or the continuity established on prior album covers. From Number of the Beast to No Prayer for the Dying, there seemed to be an ongoing story with Eddie being manipulated, captured, and killed. He is reborn, borgified, and gives birth, only to be reborn again. Then, suddenly he’s a tree. The lightning from Eddie’s eyes is gone, replaced by evil red peepers. For our improved version of this album, the cover has to go. Cover art is so important to Iron Maiden, and Fear had one of their most disappointing covers to date (with No Prayer by Riggs coming in second).
In Sum
Little can be done to improve some of the actual songs on this album. Fear had filler, and a lot of it. Even at nine songs, tracks like “The Fugitive” and “Weekend Warrior” are dangerously close to filler material. Perhaps our hypothetical remix can liven them up, but shortening the album will do it some wonders. Maiden rarely record original material for B-sides, and don’t put cover songs on their records. There is no extra material we can substitute.
Doing the best with what we have at hand, what would you do to improve Fear of the Dark?
I never say this, but this time it’s true: Our first weekend at the cottage was absolutely perfect. Without a hitch. Exactly as planned, right down to the last detail. And loaded with new music!
The road trip began at 5:15 on Thursday night, April 25. Traffic was heavy, but not as heavy as the music! (We may need to look for another route out of town next time, as it took us almost half an hour just to escape Kitchener.) I had decided early in the week that the first road album of 2024 had to be Invincible Shield by Judas Priest! I had no doubt it would be one of the best road albums of the year. So confident was I, that I packed up my copy for Friday night’s Grab A Stack of Rock – Top 11 Albums to Play with the Windows Down. And I was right. “Crown of Horns” was the singalong track, though there were no duds. The album comes to a natural close on “Giants in the Sky” which has a classic Priest ending, but it’s not over yet! The bonus tracks give you a little extra road play, with a second ending in “The Lodger”. Brilliant album that kept us energized for the drive.
Priest couldn’t take us the whole way. When the Invincible Shield had ended, we moved onto Bruce Dickinson’s Mandrake Project. I haven’t had the time to absorb it yet, but Jen really enjoyed the album as we pulled down our little dirt road and into the driveway.
Everything was exactly as I left it back in October.
Taking my speakers out of storage, and making myself comfortable on the cool front deck, I chose the first porch album of the season. I didn’t want something as heavy rocking. Nor did I want something mellow and acoustic. This calls for the Arkells!
“We got gas in the tank to go all night,” sang Max Kerman from my porch. I danced away to this perfect evening. Rally Cry is the album I connected with the least last summer, being more political and less personal. This time it hit all the right spots, scratched all the itches, and began the season on the right note.
Jen noticed that I was joking around and more giddy than usual.
“Because I’m happy,” I said. “I feel alive again. This is what I had been waiting for.”
Friday was forecast as a summery, sunny day. We started early by picking up the first steaks of the season at the Beefway. We chose one porterhouse and one ribeye. This is our place to buy meat. There’s nobody better around. We stocked up on fish, pies, bacon and cooking oil. I had duck for lunch, and hot dogs and hamburgers in the evening.
For now, it was time for the main event: the first Grab A Stack of Rock from the cottage! It was a 3 PM afternoon show, and Jex was on board with his Top 11 Road Songs, in contrast to my album picks. Once again, everything went really well! Though Jex was late with work (the only unscripted thing about it), it will go down as one of my favourite shows ever. The roaring fire in the background was something new. I love playing with my visual setting, on Grab A Stack of Rock, at the cottage. Thank you Jex for an amazing start to the year. I hope we can do more, but even if we can’t, I got to do the fireside show that I had hoped for. Scratch that off the list.
The rain began Saturday, but it only got warmer. Another day on the front porch was in order, but first we went into town to see what was new.
We hit up a thrift store. I keep seeing all these guys on Facebook buying everything they can at thrift stores. I don’t know what they do with the CDs afterwards. Do their play their new Trisha Yearwood albums? Do they try and flip them? I found nothing in the gospel and country that they had, except for one signed CD by an unknown artist. The Facebook people would have bought them all; I chose none. I don’t buy for investment and I don’t really need a lot of music “on spec” when I barely have time to enjoy what I own.
Saturday was a weird day. It’s hard to explain exactly what happened, but as the day went on the feeling got more intense. I was having Deja Vu feelings every few minutes. It wasn’t specific memories, just…overall feelings. They were usually centered around people from my childhood, but I don’t know why. I would be cooking steaks in the back yard, and having Deja Vu feelings from grade school, but I was unable to nail down any specific memories. It was just a weird feeling like, “I have done this before,” but unable to identify a specific memory. I just felt like it was childhood. It intensified at dinner time. Perhaps the aromas of the cooking brought me back to Saturday dinners at the table, with steak and corn. Our steaks were perfect.
I mentioned earlier that everything went down without a hitch. That is not entirely true….
The Toronto Maple Leafs shit the bed. We shall not discuss this. It is not a good subject.
Otherwise, everything went perfect. I was starting to feel sad on Sunday morning, as I did the dishes and packed my bags up. Deciding what to bring back home and what to leave behind, I felt sad.
“Not this time,” I said, and I fought it back.
We played Kiss on the way home. Unmasked, Rock and Roll Over, and Asylum. These albums of childhood happiness drove the sadness away, and I woke up Monday morning feeling good.
This year’s first weekend at the cottage was a diametric contrast to 2023, which ended prematurely when I decided to go home early.
2023’s first weekend began with anxiety, as my former co-host was focused only on her solo show, and did not seem to care at all what I was doing. That weekend was not just supposed to be my return to the lake, but also hers. This is where we met (online) and bonded. I could not wait to return and do it again. She couldn’t seem more disinterested. She began stripping online that weekend, and I knew the friendship was all but over. I knew that was a road I could not follow, and I knew she wanted me to, even though she refused to come right out and say it. The writing was on the wall, that cold and rainy weekend. Within seven days, the friendship had ended, as I knew it would. She would never join me at the cottage again, even though we had spent six months planning it.
Not this time.
2024 is off to the right start. Even if Jex can’t do as many summer shows with me this year, we accomplished what we set out to do. An amazing weekend was had. The music we road tested passed the gauntlet, and we are ready to get on with the summer.
mikeladano.com 