Viridis, Viridis Herba…
It was a Hot Augustus Night in late 79AD, when Neilus Diamondus took to the stage of the Graecum Theatrum in Pompeii and played one of the best lute & lire shows ever seen on a Greek stage for the next 1900 years. Little did everyone know that night, it was also the last concert ever to be performed there in the ancient world.
For as Neilus was bringing his show to a charismatic crescendo with hits like “Ego sum.. Dixit”, “Dulce Carolinus”, and “Ruber, Rufus Vinum”… the awe filled audience didn’t know the rumbles in their seats wasn’t from the music and their excitement. It was from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius only 6 miles away.
As the sky filled with fire and smoke above the stage, the amazed audience simply thought it was all apart of the act. Maybe sensing the end, Neilus put his heart and soul into every note as his body slowly sank to the stage, and some swore they saw his spirit float up on Mercurian wings, summoned to play for Zeus in the courts of Olympus for all eternity.
And as the entranced and enraptured audience got holly holy high on fumes and ash of Vesuvius’ breath, you could hear some of them say as they slipped away, “Tootaaallly wooorrrrtthhh iiiittt…”
Oh, and the classic Volcano herbal vaporizer hits clean and mean, like the Mount Vesuvius of your mind blowing it’s lid off.
