Day 100: Introduction

The greasepaint still sticks to my face
So what the hell? I can't erase
The rock 'n' roll feeling from my mind
-- Ballad of Mott The Hoople (1972)

Seems like only last week I was up at 3 a.m. -- twice -- and banging away at Ticketmaster's site trying for the best seats for Mott The Hoople's reunion shows in October in London. Got 'em, including Row A for the first night. Three shows. I'm passing on the last two.

That was January. A lot has changed since then. Used to be, getting on at 3 a.m. meant beating my alarm by four hours. Nowadays, going online at 3 a.m. means hanging on just a bit before going to bed. But that's another story, a sad one.

Point is, I said I would blog daily about the buildup to the shows starting 100 days out. The time has come. From that January morning, we're more than halfway there.

Each day I'm going to focus on a topic related to Mott The Hoople, Ian Hunter, these shows or my place in them. Much lies ahead. At some point I'll have a review of IH's Man Overboard album, set for July 21 release. I'll have a review of an IH concert at a date still to be announced, probably accompanied by my own reunion with some friends from long ago. MTH topics will include:

-- The Ariel Bender question.

-- The "Golden Ticket" and what it brings.

-- Martin Chambers' involvement.

-- Is this a one-off deal? Should it be?

-- The appeal of MTH.

-- Support: Who should it be?

-- The setlist: What opens?

-- My sidetrips to Ireland and France in conjunction with the shows.

-- How I feel about having booked on Continental Airlines, where the pilots die in flight.

I'm not going to burden this with details available elsewhere. Just views. Thanks for visiting.