Sadness this morning...

Wow, I was really shocked this morning when I got the news that Dimebag Darrell Abbott, 38, was shot dead by a crazed gunman.

Admittedly I haven't listened to any of DamagePlan's music, but I do recall having seen Pantera play at the Cow Palace near San Francisco, with White Zombie. I came to that show because I was a White Zombie fan. It was 1995, the same year they released their wildly popular "More Human than Human" album. Though Zombie put on an impressive show, filled with video and pyrotechnics, nothing prepared me for Pantera.

Unlike Zombie, which had an elaborate stage and lots of costuming and lights, Pantera took to a barren stage, dressed in grungy clothes that looked like they had slept in them all week. At first I was pretty sceptical, even though I'd heard a few Pantera tunes, and liked them well enough. Nothing prepared me for their show.

For the next two hours, these 4 guys played the fastest, loudest, and energetic music I have ever heard, before or since. The mosh pit literally EXPLODED the moment they started playing, and didn't let up until the band left the stage and hour and a half later. Here they were, 4 guys with their instruments and nothing else, but they turned the Cow Palace into one of the most impressive shows I have ever seen.

Dimebag Darrell Abbott was a great musician, who's energy, and pedal to the metal playing will be sorely missed.

Peace Darrell. 1966-2004