In a Big Country, Dreams Stay With You...

My New Year's Eve was almost like any other. As happens every year, I went back in time to my youth, Dec. 31, 1983, to be exact. I watched Big Country's legendary New Year's Eve show from Glasgow's Barrowland Ballroom.

As I have written here many times, Big Country was my favorite band in the early and middle '80s, and this concert was the lads' absolute high-water mark. They had just returned home from a successful stint in the States, and you can see and feel the homesickness subside and the happiness envelop them as they rip through every song on 'The Crossing,' and a couple of new songs from the upcoming "Wonderland" EP. They perform with pure passion and an unbridled enthusiasm that's downright infectious. And, in what I imagine was a first for a rock show, as the clock struck 12 in Scotland, the band leaves the stage for a bagpipe brigade that nearly tears the roof off the place.

I watched this show with nearly the same feeling of excitement as I did almost three decades ago when it aired on MTV, but this time I was downright euphoric. You see, I got quite a Christmas gift from Mrs. Linear Tracking Lives! Remember when I wrote about Big Country reuniting for a small tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of 'The Crossing?' Well, we're crossing the pond to see them... at the Barrowlands in Glasgow, no less. So, pardon me if I gush. This is pure nostalgia, I know, but I make no apologies. I get to feel like a 13-year-old fan again, and this time it won't be from my sofa. I should add that the deluxe edition of 'The Crossing' will now be released in the UK on Feb. 6, the same day as the Glasgow show. Should be quite a celebration.

Here's a bit from the '83/'84 New Year's Eve show. Stay alive!