When Rose was a small child, she used to think that Father Time’s first name was Lang and they were singing about his slow demise, declining memory and loss of an eye….”old Lang’s eye” …. and wondered what the hell it all had do with a new year.
“Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And old Lang’s eye!”
Ummm…..well, there are definitely a number of old aquaintances and old days that Rose thinks are best forgotten! However, in the course of one’s time in this world we will encounter many beings and situations that turn out to be heartbreaking, or even horrifying experiences.
The Universe sends everyone into your life for a reason. Quite often it’s not the reason that you wanted it to be. But, the good thing about memory is that it can be selective. We can choose to put away the memory of an “auld acquaintance” and recall them only when the anger has dissipated and we are strong enough to reflect upon it and learn from the experience.
We did some reading up on celebrations and the interesting ways people drive out the bad memories and spirits of the old year so one can start making fresh ones in a new year.
The Celtic (Irish) New Year festival is known as Samhain which meant “summer ends”. This was celebrated on October 31st. (Of course, we know this date in the U.S. as Rose’s favorite holiday… Halloween! ) To the Celts this day was considered dangerous because the spirits of the dead returned to earth. The Celtic priests would go into the woods on New Year’s Eve (October 31st) to gather bunches of mistletoe, to hand out to the people to protect them from harm. Bonfires were lit to drive away evil forces.
In the Netherlands people burn Christmas trees on street bonfires and let off fireworks to ring in the New Year and as a way of driving out the spirits of the old year.
Our favorite has got to be the Scottish New Year’s Eve celebration of Hogmanay, when people bring a gift of luck (whiskey) to the homes of their family and friends. The Scots also hold bonfire ceremonies whereby the townsmen parade around swinging giant fireballs on poles overhead. (probably after the good luck whiskey has been drunk)
OOOOOOOOOO
How awesome is that? Rose would seriously enjoy the chance to walk through select gatherings swinging giant balls of flame over the heads of those in attendance.
But, now we must turn our attention toward music!
Alice Cooper
After decades of waiting to see Alice Cooper live, we have finally been graced with the opportunity to witness this spectacle. The date was December 14th at the Hard Rock Live. Alice opened with “Black Widow”.
While you may think that 40 + years as the founding Father of Rock Theatre is way too long to be a good thing, Alice delivered an amazing show backed by a great band. Over the past four decades Alice’s bands have been made up of some of the best musicians around. The current line up includes a mix of old and new members; Chuck Garric – Base, Glen Sobel – Drums, Steve Hunter – Guitar, Tommy Henricksen – Guitar; and the newest addition, Australian guitarist, Orianthi, who also happens to be the first female musician in Alice’s troop.
In this new decade, Alice no longer attaches the huge fake house fly to his crotch, nor does he command an armless naked half mannequin to perform naughties on his personal space; and his wardrobe includes alot more fabric than his 1970’s torn up body stocking. Nonetheless, all the essential Alice toys were present including the guillotine, “Killer” the python, and cold Ethyl. The show is still a perfect blend of horror film theme, vaudeville humor, and hard rock music. And four decades later, Alice is still the ultimate deranged maniacal front man.
So What’s Up This Week?
An Effigy Distorted at the Social on Friday the 13th. On Saturday night, Wirethrone returns to the Haven.
Rose has some inside information….
*An Effigy Distorted has been recording. Looking forward to this first EP.
*Spawn of Thirteen should be playing soon at a club near you!
***
What’s in Rose’s CD player? Machine Head – “The Blackening”
***
Upcoming Shows that Rose wants to see (and you should too)
January 13th – Florida Metal Showcase VII with An Effigy Distorted and From Empires to Ashes at the Social
January 14th – Camden Cruz’s Florida Metal Showcase Armageddon with Wirethrone and a ton of other bands at the Haven
February 10th – Florida Metal Showcase VI with Wirethrone and An Effigy Distorted at the Brass Mug in Tampa
February 23rd – An Effigy Distorted and From Within at the Haven
March 3rd – Iced Earth, Symphony X, Warbringer at the House of Blues
March 4th – Dropkick Murphys at the House of Blues
March 17th – Metal Alliance Tour 2012 with Devil Driver, The Faceless, and a ton of other bands
***
Look for another opinion soon!
Rose's Opinion 