My original text 
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The only thing I keep in my memory
about this Tuesday May 6, is that I am not in existence. Neil makes a short
break and all my being too. The heat is oppressive, overcomes my body, and
liquefies my mind. So, wouldn’t it be too excessive to say that I devoted this
day to sleep and to rest? I couldn’t say that to you. Anyway, when the evening
comes, I fall asleep again in the hotel with this roof covered with my 19 stars.
I open my eyes, revolving lights flicker in the night. A police officer knocks:
"Polizei! Kontrolle! Passeport et papiers de la voiture, s’il vous plait." -
[Passport and identity papers of the car, please]. Don’t mistake me for cousin
Jed! I have neither drug nor weapon. I think they get the message but they carry
my sleep away with them and they’ll let it go only the following night. It’s at
that time a big purple rose planted close to my car calls out to me: "Are you
passionate?" It’s the only thing it can tell me about all my questioning.
Afternoon, Stuttgart appears protected from heatwave, in the hollow of a cooling
valley. When the shop windows don’t spread out cars they reflect the beautiful
German cars in parking. At this moment in time, Neil must surely drives around
in one of those ones visiting the city whereas Larry defends the bus because two
German fans, pencils and notepad in their hand, hunt and fish for autograph.
It’s 03:00 PM. They’ll keep the bus until 07:45 PM, without success. I talk with
Yann, a man from Strasbourg, who missed any Neil Eurotours, without exception,
since 1993! He likes especially the sound coming from LPs, he has two hundred
ones about Neil Young. His favourite one: Tonight’s The Night in American
version. Does the sound quality of LPs vary according to countries? I go to the
rusties rallying place. Is there anybody there? Peter "Hard_To_Handle" touches
my shoulder: "Hello, we are at the other terrace that looks onto the other
street." I meet new rusties as Frenchman Philippe. But it’s difficult for me to
tell my visit in Münich to him because he wants to know nothing about it. He is
wrong! Because instead of spoiling life, that beautifies it during the show.
He’ll admit that later as all those who I met thereafter and who had the same
opinion. What is thus this Lierderhalle Beethovensaal theater? It reminds me of
a multi-purpose theater with its waxed and varnished floorboards. Rows of chairs
were bolted on the ground. I’m seating uncomfortably in the last third of the
theater, being ranked 27, with a small balcony above my head. And Neil comes,
gives us a talk on Greendale peppered his speech with songs. "I write much,
other days less". I ask my father: "What do you write?" and he answers me: "I
don’t know what I write". Neil seems to me less talkative in the Greendale set,
but perhaps it’s only a misleading heartfelt thing. However, I’m sure he jams
not much between the songs contrary in Münich. At my side, the American girl
(coming from Ohio, but living in Germany) and her boyfriend laugh more than the
others when Neil introduces the songs but don’t applaud all the Greendale
pieces. Phil will say to me that Neil is coming to a watershed in his career,
having been the lover with "Harvest" and the husband with "Harvest Moon", with
"Greendale" he’s the old Grandpa who tells a long story to his grandchild. Most
of his new songs are more spoken than sung. In the second set, Neil will say he
has played in Münich two days ago, (I know!), he has thought acoustics and the
audience were good, Münich and Stuttgart is like two sisters. I would also add
that as in Münich, the sound is increased in Be_The_Rain. As in Münich, Neil,
playing guitar, is sometimes projected in shadowgraph on the right wall of the
theater. Visual effects that I won’t see any more this week. After a perfect
Lotta_Love, a girl, who’s sitting on my left and far ahead, with an acute voice
shouts: "Carry_On!" Neil laughs: "Carry_On? What’s that song?" He sits at the
piano whereas the cry of the girl continues to be also shrilling. Neil laughs,
plays the first Carry_On chord, and says "It is all that I know about Carry On!"
then he continues his set. This evening, Neil enjoys a lot, all along this set,
with this girl who clamours for this Stephen Stills song, and also when he hears
"Rust never sleeps, man!" War_Of_Man is once again dedicated to animals and to
children from Iraq. Neil comes back to us for Heart_Of_Gold already. This second
set is rather short but really excellent! Now Neil gets up, takes his jacket put
on his chair, greets us while walking alongside the stage, shakes one hand held
out, and moves towards the exit, turned round towards us, waves his jacket
meaning: this time, I go out with my jacket, it’s really the end. I join the
rusties (including Felix, Joachim...) For the most part, it’s the first time
that I meet them and nevertheless... yes... I remember them! I take a great
delight with this idea but... there is something from a dreadful fright to
remember someone whose we never met previously (as the girl in Baden Baden, and
I would add the girl coming from Ohio) !!! A girl wearing a hat with large
yellow flower, comes up to me and says to me: "Did we already meet previously? /
I don’t know. / Yes, you come from Spain! / No. You were in Spain to see Crazy
Horse in 2001? / I’ve never set foot in Spain... Ah! I found!!! It was in
Lörrach, yes, yes, yes, in Lörrach two years ago. It’s incredible how I remember
you very well!!!" I think I remember you, yes, thank you to clear up me this
dark zone although I don’t know if we had had a conversation, undoubtedly we had
met previously because at the time, the "Snoopy’s ticket" was all the rage with
the German rusties because I was an actor. It’s my duty to finish with an
extract from Carry_On. Where are you going now my love? Where will you be
tomorrow? Will you bring me happiness? Will you bring me sorrow? I don’t have
reminiscences from the following day therefore I must pass the time to have the
answers to these questions that you’ll find in "My Germanic week (part
3 : Amsterdam 03)". To be continued ... Denis Between The Rusty Words |
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My original text |
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