US Festival 1983

Oh to be young again and able to withstand a weekend of no sleep and partying in ridiculous heat. I caught the '83 show, it felt like something really monumental, at the time. Now, I'm not so sure.

Looking back, it was really the end of an era. As Hunter S Thompson said(about the preceding era) - "With the right kind of eyes, you can almost see the high-water mark - the place where the wave broke and rolled back."

I worked both shows. I was the liason for the Clash for the 1983 Show for five months. Was five feet from the fight that took place between Woz's people and Kosmo Vinyl of the Clash. Really tense. Watched the dust come off the mosh pit and mingle with the sweat of Joe Strummer. The towels were brown.

Also had the great experience of seeing Van Halen arrive backstage drunk as skunks the next night and seeing David get the usual injections to ready him for the stage. Ahh, the good old days.....