I had known of Saxon only by their name on the
cover of albums in records stores during my visits in the late 1970s. Not being
a fan of heavy metal, I never invested in purchase of album or tickets. Not
that I have anything against Heavy Metal. I was much more the Beatles/Simon and
Garfunkel kind of appreciant.
When my son suggested
this concert featuring Saxon and Uriah Heep at the Lerner Theatre in Elkhart,
of course I said “yes”. I love the gathering of music fans to just about any
type of music and venue.
Eric, my son, said, regarding Saxon…”These
guys are legendary in the metal community.”
I was impressed. This band is very precise
in their instrumentation, timing, cadence, and more so than most performers I
have encountered. Through the loudness, one can distinguish each guitar and
vocal. The loudness is not merely for the aim of playing loud…the level of
sound they create enables their music to ricochet from the walls in just the
right directions for the listener to audibly consume each thrash-strum, slide-pick,
and drum roll presented.
I was impressed. Each song was acutely
predictable. I don’t say that as a negative, contrary, this quality of
predictability enabled the listener to know where the variations of the strums
and drums was going and where the anticipated landing would be.
At the beginning thrash-strum of one song my
son leaned over to me and said “JFK”. Quickly, I Google-searched “Saxon JFK”.
Well, that landed me where I did not want to go. Then I searched “Saxon song
JFK”. Ah yes, that gave me the tilte of the song the band was playing (Dallas
1PM) and the lyric, which I present at bottom of this blog post.
Now, that fact made
strong connection between baby-boomer me and this British new wave heavy metal
band from South Yorkshire, England.
I was impressed. The crowd that was there responded
to each lyric sang as if the crowd knew the lyrics by heart. They were
certainly well invested!
I was convinced, as my son asserted, these
guys are legendary in the metal community. They built upon that legend tonight
at the Lerner Theater.
If you have never
experienced a heavy metal band in concert and are interested in it as a “bucket
list” item, for sure see Saxon.
I present the lyric Dallas 1PM in Fair Use as I
do not monetize my blog…
[Verse
1]
A crowded main street, the scene was set
They check out the view, turn the radio on
Open the case, assemble the gun
Wait at the ready, for the president's run
[Chorus]
The world was shocked that fateful day
A young man's life was blown away, away, away-ay-ay
At Dallas 1 p.m
[Verse 2]
White hot lead, in the back of the head
Screaming confusion, shots rip the air
Cadillac racing, cops on the run
They couldn't believe the president's hit
*3 Shots*
[Radio Chatter]
"Something has happened here
We understand there has been a shooting
The presidential car coming up now, we know it's the presidential car, you can
see Mrs. Kennedy in the pink suit
There's a secret serviceman spread eagle over the top of the car
We understand that governor and Mrs. Connally are in the car with president and
Mrs. Kennedy
We can't see who is hit if anybody's been hit, but apparently something is
wrong here, something is terribly wrong
[?] behind the motorcade [?] they're going to Parkland Hospital
[?]."
[Guitar Solo]
[Verse 3]
The shooting's done, assassin run
Is he dead? No-one will say
Around the world, the news was flashed
We sat and watched, your tragic history
[Chorus]
The world was shocked that fateful day
A young man's life was blown away, away, away-ay-ay
At Dallas 1 p.m
1 p.m
[Outro]
The world was shocked
In Dallas 1 p.m
We sat and watched
Tragic history
The world was shocked
In Dallas 1 p.m
