Monday, July 01, 2024

Got a black Magic woman

Got a black magic womanI've got a black magic womanGot me so blind, I can't seeThat she's a black magic woman

She's trying to make a devil outta me ( Carlos Santana)



 I may have shared this story before , if i did ...apologies to sleepy Joe.


i was sitting in the yard yesterday drinking a cool refreshing beverage and watching the Muts on Mute...i think they need to activate Grimace and give him the plate appearance that Mister Met never got....but i digress. The above referenced gem from Santana came on the ipod stereo and i was taken back to 1985 and the Indian Ocean......in truth...every time i have heard this song since the day in question my mind has traveled back.  

I had been in boot camp for the summer of 85.....and then School in Indiana and a brief trip home before my first assignment on the Island of Diego Garcia , the footprint of Freedom . I had not seen a band or heard live music in probably 6 months or more....sometimes you do not realize how much you miss something until it returns into your life.......

On this particular night my roommate (Dave Croke)  convinced me to go to the base club for a few cold beers....not a difficult task.....and we soon learned that a British ship, HMS something or other ( i wish i could remember their name) was in port and the ship had a house band and they offered to play in the enlisted club......again, i didn't think too much of it......until they opened with Black Magic Woman.

They were probably an average band, somewhat clunky, with a makeshift sound system .....BUT ...after going so long without hearing live Rock n Roll i was enamored....They were GREAT.....you could feel the base chords deep in your soul and the guitar solos were piercing.......oh how i had missed the sounds of great music......and now for the first time since i flew to Great Lakes and the start of bootcamp...i found my life starting to return to normal.....i was standing at the Mahogany....cold beer in hand, clusters of young females in attendance and LIVE ROCK N ROLL.....

we stayed a few hours and the band played 2 or 3 sets....can't tell much more about their setlist.....but the opening chords and solos of Black Magic Woman have taken up residence in a happy space in brain......years ago i would call Dano after having a memory like this one....as he is the only other person i know that spent time on That Rock in the IO........the British Indian Ocean Territory of Diego Garcia.......maybe he's still reading the blog and shaking his head up there.


2+3= BEEER


Got your spell on me, babyYou got your spell on me, babyYes, you got your spell on me, babyTurning my heart into stoneI need you so bad, magic womanI can't leave you alone

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