The Old Tom Wolfe Bit

No, I'm not talking about electric kool-aid acid tests. I'm talking of the "you can't go homa again" Tom Wolfe, at least in a barely connective way. Instead of arriving back in the home town to see that it's all changed, I'm talking cerebral rearranging of memories OR WHY BOOTLEGS CAN BE A BAD THING. I found this great bootleg site which I'm sure most are already well aware of and I saw some bands I might like to hear. The Meat Puppets stuff was incredible, of course I never saw them play live. What caused my memories to suddenly be messed up was the one boot I heard of Van Halen on the 1984 Tour. That was my first big rock tour to see, in February in Nashville, TN. The boot I heard was of a Charlotte show also in February. The sound wasn't great, but I wasn't expecting much there. What sucked was Van Halen's performance - they were terrible!!! Sloppy, indulgent, full of crap....and when I decided to check gigs from the Hide Your Sheep tour for Diver Down I got the same result. I had thought of the 1984 show as a highlight of my youth and now it seems I was living a lie. Van Halen actually stink live. That's the last time I listen to a boot of a band I've actually seen live. I don't think my brain could handle any more disappointment.