Pickton Trial Part 5: The Concert

By the end of that first weekend of jury deliberations, energy levels were low. I recall just wanting to get home when the night was done and crashing to sleep. I knew full well that the 6 am wake up alarm would come soon enough.

And it did. I arrived on that Tuesday a bit agitated because of a household disagreement that privacy laws forbid me from revealing. Well they don't really, but if Mrs. Murman reads this blog, I would end up in a world of shit and quite frankly I'm not much in the mood for that at this point in time.

The day progressed very well until one of my friends from Global National showed up.

"Hey Murman guess what??" he asked (more like taunted)
"What?" I answered.
"I'm goin' to the Van Halen concert tomorrow night!" he replied
"Shit, you rat bastard, I couldn't get tickets and besides it looks like I'm stuck here anyway."
I had wanted to see these guys since 1981 when they made the swing through the Maritimes. I had tickets then, but the show was cancelled in Moncton as I recall due to a stage /venue issue.
I looked at him with envy and contempt for rubbing it in that he was going. Especially after the mood I was in from the aforementioned "domestic dispute".
"Murman, I gotta friend that has an extra ticket." he says.
"Get him on the phone!" I demanded.
He did and after a brief conversation, I had myself a ticket outta Begbie Square. My demeanor instantly improving.

The day of the concert, I was able to get someone to cover my late hit. It would feel nice to go somewhere other than the Courthouse in New Westminster even if it were only for a few hours.

The seats were good ones, Al's friend sold me the ticket for face value. It proved to be money well spent.

The show begins with Eddie's son Wolfgang on Bass, David, Alex and Eddie rockin' with "You Really Got Me Now" (photo Vancouver Sun)

The show began with the familiar riff of Eddie playing "You Really Got Me" and David Lee Roth prancing down a long curving ramp waving a giant red flag. It was on. After 26 years, I finally got to see Van Halen. For the next two hours it felt I was back in high school 1979. I pumped my arms with every beat. Enjoyed every song. I knew them all by heart.
Eddie had brought his "A" game and so too, did David. It was freakin' great. For that two hours there was no court, no deliberations, no wait and no worries about what the hell we were going to do when a verdict came down.

Eddie = Guitar Hero! brought his "A" game (photo Vancouver Sun)

Yes it was quite a show, good escapism and when the show was over, there had not been one single song that I had wished they had played. They played it all. Now if I could only hear. It took two days for the ringing to finally stop. The show gave me the energy to see this assignment to it's end.

It was one of the best shows I have ever seen ( Photo Vancouver Sun)
,,,,You really got me!


Oh ya, thanks Al !