My ear plugs are still in my shirt pocket, and twelve hours later I'm still rockin' my head and whistlin' shards-n-slivers of songs by Blue Cheer.

I usually write as I think and slowly find my point. This time I want to be more specific. Last night, I was at the kick off concert of a new tour of "Blue Cheer". For some odd but lucky reason, they chose to begin this tour in a small club ("The Jewish Mother") in the ocean side tourist town of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Adding to the luck, my friend James Duval, involved in music and radio, had two professional passes, and asked me to join him.

Yet, I was hesitant. My reasons:

1) Most tours of "old" groups are lame and embarrassing, especially when the original members - now dead, in a coma, preaching, or selling real estate - are "replaced". Slow motion "Menudo-ism".

2) Most tours include so much crowd-pleasing nostalgia it's lame and embarrassing. For god's sake, allow, no, INSIST that artists MOVE AHEAD, no matter HOW much you or they love their old work!

3) Blue Cheer was always billed as the LOUDEST band in rock history. A dubious cause for billing, but having never heard them in concert, I wasn't sure if it was true, and I did NOT want to damage my ear drums (now that I no longer believe my body is immortal or equal to Superman's). I envisioned blood leaking out of my ears at about the fifth number. (Btw, yes, they WERE loud, but I've heard louder: The Rolling Stones, Denver, 1965, and Gang of Four, Virginia Beach, c. 1984 - which was their very last concert.)

4) I'm always afraid of a negatively memorable experience getting in the way of my appreciation of the original music - like they turn a classic rock song into a Las Vegas toe-tapper. More lame and embarrassing potential.

5) And, finally, would these guys still have their "chops"?

I went with James. And, if we're going, why mess around? Get there EARLY, scope the place for best listening, photographing, bathroom, and autograph-seeking positions, and hang onto it... which we did, though it was a small club and no one was "cheated" of the full experience.

First, an opening band. "Crimson Electric". They were good musicians relying on a mix of inspirations from early heavy metal, early punk, to 90's+ rock. Their only weak spot - quite a weak spot - was the vocalist. I kept hoping for an instrumental, so I could enjoy the guys who were doing the good work.

After they were done, the stage was stripped and reloaded with Blue Cheer's equipment. They were ready to begin about 10-10:30 pm.

It's odd... seeing people you've "known" for 40 years - those guys - photographed and staring out from their psychedelic album covers - those young turks full of lean-and-mean in-your-face innovations, cultural representation, and momentary fashion statements. Out walk three men in their sixties... and they're still talkin' the talk... but how can they still be walkin' the walk? The TIMES have changed - and the TIMES, not to mention age, maybe even improvements, seep into all of us. Three men in their sixties.

"Dickie" Peterson, original lead vocalist and bass guitarist, spoke. Yeh, he carried his habitual lingo as do we all. It clothes us all within specific decades and subcultures. You utter anything, and someone understands a little of your history. His voice sounds like Wolfman Jack's, his lingo was that of Haight Ashbury but with a wiser, tougher edge. He was thin, had shoulder length gray hair and sunglasses, and ready to rock. Rock heavy.

Paul Whaley, original drummer, sat down at his equipment like he'd arrived at his office, and the drums were his desk. He looked over his equipment as though they were memos, settled in, and didn't spend any time checking out who his audience was for this night in this town. He was internalized. (He reminded me of Charlie Watts of the Stones. All business. No emotion.)

"Duck" MacDonald is the "new" member, having only been with the group TWENTY years. Newbie. Greenhorn! A big man with long, thinning brown hair, and the lead guitar. He seemed like a guy with whom you'd share a random beer and he'd never mention he was a member of Blue Cheer.

Okay, here they were. Here we were. Let's get started. Let's just SEE what happens... maybe I won't even need my earplugs. Maybe their amps are turned down and they'll pull out accordions and tambourines in a minute anyhow.

Huh uh. NO way! They hit this road RUNNIN' baby, RUNNIN'! I can't give you the set list, but many of the first songs were from their new album, so this was NOT a nostalgia tour. Check marks in the "GOOD" column. LOUD!? No one, not even the rude, mouthy jerk nearby who kept playing with his ponytail like it was his weenie that'd would be amputated next week, could speak while they played. Ear plugs IN. Don't kid yourself. Bring some. Nothing is worth losing your hearing, and it IS possible. Your ear drums are NOT immortal.

Eventually Blue Cheer allowed in some older tunes, which included Rock Me Baby, Doctor Please, Out of Focus, Parchment Farm, Second Time Around, and yes, Summertime Blues. "Summertime Blues" was introduced NOT as "This was one of our huge hits and let me tell you a few interesting stories about what it did for us...." but as "Eddie Cochran's hit". Impressive. They continue to use strong, sometimes shifting rhythms, heavy bass guitar, sinuous lead guitar wailing and spinning, and harsh, unromantic vocals. James was busy rockin' and bobbin' to them, with a smile on his face. James is a young man. He has NO nostalgia built in here. HE had pure, unadulterated appreciation for THESE THREE MUSICIANS, HERE, NOW.

It added up to an experience unlike any other. I tried to attach them to Led Zeppelin. Nope. Jimi Hendrix Experience. No! Jefferson Airplane? NO way. In NO time, I'd eliminated any of the other Sixties innovators, and saw only a long list of groups Blue Cheer had inspired in the Seventies and beyond. They are who THEY are, and it's music you either appreciate or you don't.

Listening back to "Vincebus Eruptum" - the album that put them on the counter-culture map - it was, of course, a more produced, cleaner sound with good balance, and is one of MY favorites of all time. When I'm in THAT mood, no other album fits. When I'm in the mood for "Golden Earring", or "Devo", or "Johnny Mathis" or "Mary Wells", or "Tammy Wynette", or "[you fill in the blank]", you MUST have THEM and no one else. Well, Blue Cheer is to Psychedelic Heavy Metal what Little Richard was to Rock and Roll, Run DMC was to Rap, or Patti Smith was to Punk.

They did one encore. I am NOT a fan of the "encore". It's long been a fake ritual, and I think artists give enough as it is. Don't ask more. Enjoy what you've been given, and don't barter the value down by asking for more - More - MORE - FREE - extra music, extra time, extra energy!!! Stop it. Whoop and holler and applaud for an hour if you want, but don't expect them to play for you until YOU'RE tired and walk out on THEM.

Oh, and DON'T talk over them, and DON'T play with your ponytail every 45 seconds. Someone's going to get very angry, and tell you to shut the hell up, or cut off your hair.

Once they were done, James and I went down to the stage and waited patiently until they had free moments. I asked "Dickie" to sign my "Vincebus Eruptum" vinyl album cover. (Bring three pens. At least one ALWAYS fails when you don't expect it.) I said "Thanks so much for coming tonight. I brought your album, which I've carried with me everywhere for the last forty years." He said "So have I, man, so have I." GREAT response. I thanked him again, wished him luck on the tour, and he thanked me for coming. "My pleasure!" I said. I then asked Paul to sign it, which he did, I shook his hand also, thanked him, he thanked me, and James and I exited.

Outside, I threw my arm over James and said "WOW! Thank YOU for bringing me! This turned out to be a great concert, and none of the hesitations I told you I had were there. THIS was the real thing. The REAL thing!!" He agreed.

See Blue Cheer (including my autographed album) in this gallery (first seven photos) on my site:

http://futuresantiques.com/items/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=3520

More on Blue Cheer at these links:

http://www.furious.com/PERFECT/bluecheer2.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Cheer