I finally went out today without the taste of fire in my mouth. The sky was blue and the nearest fire no longer out of control. The wind has dropped but it’s still warm here into September. Other fires are still out of control but a little rain may be coming to help the thousands of firefighters and planes dropping water. It was a relief to leave the indoors and walk in the street and I dawdled before I left. I eventually and randomly got up to go to the psychedelic psupermarket, outside the door was Carlo who we’d met at the Luna Fest, he’s Italian and lives in Lisbon. He’s here showing Italian tourists around Porto, at the same time Olivia is doing the same thing with German tourists. Ptooff! He appeared out of nowhere, unexpected and by total chance we ran into each other (I suppose him being outside the door might have narrowed the odds).
Rory Gallagher’s classic 1961 Fender Stratocaster is for sale. They expect around a million bucks for it. I saw Rory live in the seventies, once at Liverpool Stadium and once at Reading Festival. A major influence on Brian May & Slash and I’ve been a fan from the beginning, my Rory collection in The Archive is vast.
Two seshes today, first with Brian and the upcoming progressive rock opera Valley of Salt, hold onto your hats. We are just finalising the artwork and will post when it will be available. Lots to report on the second sesh with Jeff in Ohio and his project, but not yet. On another subject that is not yet ready, keep this date and time open: Saturday, 28th September–11 PM GMT (that’s 6 PM EST and 8 AM on the East Coast in Australia, Sunday 29th).
Late tonight, around 2 AM, I heard a dripping sound and thought, oh oh, what’s leaking? I went into the kitchen and tried to locate the dripping sound. And then…I went to the front and the rain was coming down. I hope it lasts for the sake of the fires, the air and most of all the people who are suffering from the fires.
Music today has been Rory Gallagher – Irish Tour ’74 (1974), hear Rory rip it up with his magic fingers and unique tone. Blues in its simplicity is the hardest music to make good, that’s where the soul comes in and the magic electricity between the fingers and the heart.