"BLUE" JIMMY: '83 US FESTIVAL ATTENDEE:
BLIND DOG OZZY: NEUROTIC CHIHUAHUA
"BLUE" JIMMY: The 33rd Anniversary of the '83 US FESTIVAL is this Memorial Day Weekend. I was there and all I got was a lousy T-shirt! Come to think of it, I didn't even get a T-shirt!
BLIND DOG OZZY: I got a case of the s**ts!
"BLUE" JIMMY: But unlike some folks, I got clear memories of that day and I can share them with you here. Of course, when I say '83 US FESTIVAL, I'm talking about Sunday, May 29, 1983 (Also known as HEAVY METAL DAY). My first memory is that it was hot. Like, Africa hot. You wanna know how hot it was? In the 2003 DVD release of Triumph's performance at the festival, you can see me in the crowd scene when the front gates open and I'm running towards the stage trying to get a good spot wearing mirror shades, no shirt and daisy dukes!
BLIND DOG OZZY: What a fag!!!
"BLUE" JIMMY: That's how hot it was. First up on the bill was QUIET RIOT. I remember early ads had Joe Walsh opening the show but someone must have decided he wasn't METAL enough so they switched him to rock day and added QUIET RIOT at the last minute. QUIET RIOT sent their prize guitarist Randy Rhodes to play with OZZY a few years earlier, played the Sunset Strip under the name DU BROW for awhile, and then snagged former SNOW guitarist Carlos Cavazo to reform QUIET RIOT.
BLIND DOG OZZY: And he don't Google that info ... he knows that s**t from memory!
"BLUE" JIMMY: Yes, they rocked! And ironically, after barely making it to opening band status, they were the first Heavy Metal band in history to have a #1 album and a #1 single on the charts simultaneously, with "Metal Health."
BLIND DOG OZZY: "Bang Your Head ... "
"BLUE" JIMMY: Next up was MOTLEY CRUE! Sorry, but my keyboard doesn't allow me to use umlauts to spell their name properly.
BLIND DOG OZZY: Now everybody is looking up the word "umlaut" ...
"BLUE" JIMMY: I had seen MOTLEY CRUE on the Sunset Strip many times in their early days and I thought they were great but I doubted a band with that look, attitude and sound could really make it past The Whiskey in an era of post "Saturday Night Fever" and new wave teen idols. But when I saw their shameless, Satanic, S&M imagery and heard songs like "Shout At The Devil" and "Looks That Kill" from their yet-to-be-released second album, I thought, "Oh, f**k! ... This band is going to be huge!" I was right.
BLIND DOG OZZY: OZZY! OZZY! OZZY!
"BLUE" JIMMY: I love the sun, but it was around this time that I noticed there was no shade ANYWHERE in this godforsaken cow pasture in San Bernardino. Unlike Woodstock, where there was plenty of mud for filthy hippies to frolic in, here there was dirt and a feeble attempt by the promoters to plant grass which by concert day, had turned into pathetic piles of scarecrow stuffing which people were trying to sit on to avoid the hot dirt. I didn't have money to go sit it the nice, cool, beer garden so seriously, the only place you could escape the sun was behind the port-o-johns where there was a few feet of shade behind each sh*tter!
BLIND DOG OZZY: Nothing like 100 + degree heat and a tank full of fragrant raw sewage to make your day!
"BLUE" JIMMY: I knew OZZY was about to come on but without Randy Rhodes who had recently died in a plane crash, I thought I would sit this gig out and stay in the shade. How good could they be without Randy and who was this Jake E something who was trying to take his place? Yeah well after two songs, I had fought my way to the front, mesmerized by Jake E Lee and his attempts to rip the frets off a modified Strat like no one I had ever seen. At one point, I was crushed against the retaining wall and had to press my feet against it and push the headbangers back like a dude using the hack squat machine in the gym. The only thing that made it worth it was getting blasted in the face by OZZY with a water cannon!
BLIND DOG OZZY: OZZY! OZZY! OZZY!
"BLUE" JIMMY: After surviving that, I had to endure a set by JUDAS PRIEST! Yes, there is that legendary entrance onstage by Rob Halford on a Harley Davidson but also an incredible set list that was heavy on songs from recent albums like "British Steel" and "Screaming For Vengeance." All done in scorching heat dressed in black leather. I don't usually have "exotic" tastes but to this day, I have fantasies of Rob Halford jumping off stage and stepping on my balls with those big, black boots!
BLIND DOG OZZY: Ok, that's just ... weird.
"BLUE" JIMMY: By this time, the favorite pastime of all the dudes in the festival was to squirt fine chicks with spray bottles and "cool them off." Of course, when their tube tops and little running shorts were drenched with water you could see ...
BLIND DOG OZZY: Everything!
"BLUE" JIMMY: When the sun was just starting to set on this loud and magical day, we got TRIUMPH! Some say that TRIUMPH was not as crushingly heavy as the other bands on the bill but I remember that hearing inspiring songs like "Fight The Good Fight" and "Magic Power" right at sunset made me get chills and tears in my eyes.
BLIND DOG OZZY: Me too but I think it was the "ceremonial herbs" that were being smoked!
"BLUE" JIMMY: What can you say about SCORPIONS? Drawing on albums like "Lovedrive," "Animal Magnetism" and "Blackout," they destroyed the crowd with an energetic and acrobatic stage show, sexy Euro charm and an in-your-face sound which had many saying they stole the show.
BLIND DOG OZZY: "Blackout ... I really had a Blackout ..."
"BLUE" JIMMY: That leads us to the mighty VAN HALEN! Never in my life have I heard such passionate, divergent opinions about what happened on a concert stage. Some say they were drunk, sloppy, disrespected their audience and disgraced themselves. Others say they were drunk, sloppy, disrespected their audience, disgraced themselves and put on the best Rock 'N' Roll Show they've ever seen and heard ... I tend to subscribe to the latter opinion.
BLIND DOG OZZY: "F**k the concert, let's go across the street and get a drink!" - D L Roth.
"BLUE" JIMMY: There you have it. Close to 400,00 people, (a single-day record at that time), oppressive, nudity-inciting heat, 100 arrests, 35 drug overdoses, reports of abductions and Satanic rituals (seriously!), only one murder and me almost taking a dump in my shorts waiting in line for the restroom during Edward Van Halen's guitar solo!
BLIND DOG OZZY: Let's do it again!!!
"BLUE" JIMMY: Sake's Alive!
BLIND DOG OZZY: Wow! Wow!
bluejames61@hotmail.com
BLIND DOG OZZY: I got a case of the s**ts!
"BLUE" JIMMY: But unlike some folks, I got clear memories of that day and I can share them with you here. Of course, when I say '83 US FESTIVAL, I'm talking about Sunday, May 29, 1983 (Also known as HEAVY METAL DAY). My first memory is that it was hot. Like, Africa hot. You wanna know how hot it was? In the 2003 DVD release of Triumph's performance at the festival, you can see me in the crowd scene when the front gates open and I'm running towards the stage trying to get a good spot wearing mirror shades, no shirt and daisy dukes!
BLIND DOG OZZY: What a fag!!!
"BLUE" JIMMY: That's how hot it was. First up on the bill was QUIET RIOT. I remember early ads had Joe Walsh opening the show but someone must have decided he wasn't METAL enough so they switched him to rock day and added QUIET RIOT at the last minute. QUIET RIOT sent their prize guitarist Randy Rhodes to play with OZZY a few years earlier, played the Sunset Strip under the name DU BROW for awhile, and then snagged former SNOW guitarist Carlos Cavazo to reform QUIET RIOT.
BLIND DOG OZZY: And he don't Google that info ... he knows that s**t from memory!
"BLUE" JIMMY: Yes, they rocked! And ironically, after barely making it to opening band status, they were the first Heavy Metal band in history to have a #1 album and a #1 single on the charts simultaneously, with "Metal Health."
BLIND DOG OZZY: "Bang Your Head ... "
"BLUE" JIMMY: Next up was MOTLEY CRUE! Sorry, but my keyboard doesn't allow me to use umlauts to spell their name properly.
BLIND DOG OZZY: Now everybody is looking up the word "umlaut" ...
"BLUE" JIMMY: I had seen MOTLEY CRUE on the Sunset Strip many times in their early days and I thought they were great but I doubted a band with that look, attitude and sound could really make it past The Whiskey in an era of post "Saturday Night Fever" and new wave teen idols. But when I saw their shameless, Satanic, S&M imagery and heard songs like "Shout At The Devil" and "Looks That Kill" from their yet-to-be-released second album, I thought, "Oh, f**k! ... This band is going to be huge!" I was right.
BLIND DOG OZZY: OZZY! OZZY! OZZY!
"BLUE" JIMMY: I love the sun, but it was around this time that I noticed there was no shade ANYWHERE in this godforsaken cow pasture in San Bernardino. Unlike Woodstock, where there was plenty of mud for filthy hippies to frolic in, here there was dirt and a feeble attempt by the promoters to plant grass which by concert day, had turned into pathetic piles of scarecrow stuffing which people were trying to sit on to avoid the hot dirt. I didn't have money to go sit it the nice, cool, beer garden so seriously, the only place you could escape the sun was behind the port-o-johns where there was a few feet of shade behind each sh*tter!
BLIND DOG OZZY: Nothing like 100 + degree heat and a tank full of fragrant raw sewage to make your day!
"BLUE" JIMMY: I knew OZZY was about to come on but without Randy Rhodes who had recently died in a plane crash, I thought I would sit this gig out and stay in the shade. How good could they be without Randy and who was this Jake E something who was trying to take his place? Yeah well after two songs, I had fought my way to the front, mesmerized by Jake E Lee and his attempts to rip the frets off a modified Strat like no one I had ever seen. At one point, I was crushed against the retaining wall and had to press my feet against it and push the headbangers back like a dude using the hack squat machine in the gym. The only thing that made it worth it was getting blasted in the face by OZZY with a water cannon!
BLIND DOG OZZY: OZZY! OZZY! OZZY!
"BLUE" JIMMY: After surviving that, I had to endure a set by JUDAS PRIEST! Yes, there is that legendary entrance onstage by Rob Halford on a Harley Davidson but also an incredible set list that was heavy on songs from recent albums like "British Steel" and "Screaming For Vengeance." All done in scorching heat dressed in black leather. I don't usually have "exotic" tastes but to this day, I have fantasies of Rob Halford jumping off stage and stepping on my balls with those big, black boots!
BLIND DOG OZZY: Ok, that's just ... weird.
"BLUE" JIMMY: By this time, the favorite pastime of all the dudes in the festival was to squirt fine chicks with spray bottles and "cool them off." Of course, when their tube tops and little running shorts were drenched with water you could see ...
BLIND DOG OZZY: Everything!
"BLUE" JIMMY: When the sun was just starting to set on this loud and magical day, we got TRIUMPH! Some say that TRIUMPH was not as crushingly heavy as the other bands on the bill but I remember that hearing inspiring songs like "Fight The Good Fight" and "Magic Power" right at sunset made me get chills and tears in my eyes.
BLIND DOG OZZY: Me too but I think it was the "ceremonial herbs" that were being smoked!
"BLUE" JIMMY: What can you say about SCORPIONS? Drawing on albums like "Lovedrive," "Animal Magnetism" and "Blackout," they destroyed the crowd with an energetic and acrobatic stage show, sexy Euro charm and an in-your-face sound which had many saying they stole the show.
BLIND DOG OZZY: "Blackout ... I really had a Blackout ..."
"BLUE" JIMMY: That leads us to the mighty VAN HALEN! Never in my life have I heard such passionate, divergent opinions about what happened on a concert stage. Some say they were drunk, sloppy, disrespected their audience and disgraced themselves. Others say they were drunk, sloppy, disrespected their audience, disgraced themselves and put on the best Rock 'N' Roll Show they've ever seen and heard ... I tend to subscribe to the latter opinion.
BLIND DOG OZZY: "F**k the concert, let's go across the street and get a drink!" - D L Roth.
"BLUE" JIMMY: There you have it. Close to 400,00 people, (a single-day record at that time), oppressive, nudity-inciting heat, 100 arrests, 35 drug overdoses, reports of abductions and Satanic rituals (seriously!), only one murder and me almost taking a dump in my shorts waiting in line for the restroom during Edward Van Halen's guitar solo!
BLIND DOG OZZY: Let's do it again!!!
"BLUE" JIMMY: Sake's Alive!
BLIND DOG OZZY: Wow! Wow!
bluejames61@hotmail.com
