References to places in Belfast also appear in the lyrics, Hyndford St, Cypress Avenue. Locations around Northern Ireland, Newtownards, Comber, Coney Island. Van was nailing it for me. I knew the places he was weaving into his lyrics. Belfast was becoming famous through his songs.
I don’t buy the album after the gig at the merch desk because I’m still holding onto the memory of hearing Chasing Van, of savouring it, of treasuring it. I don’t want to make a commercial transaction. Yet.
With a scowl that could scorch the tops of crème brûlée, I would stalk through the bar to the alleyway to glower outside until the song ended. Even the rotting potato peels and pools of stale beer were preferable to hearing it again.
At our final 2017 show we performed another mix of moving stories, plus tributes to Tom Petty (via Stop Dragging My Heart Around), Malcolm Young (Rock And Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution), George Young (Guitar Band) and David Cassidy (Cherish).
In a clandestine operation my wife had left me and took everything but my beloved stereo system in the lounge room (including 500 or so records and a CD collection that was rapidly catching up) and, in the spare room, a single bed.