[MarMema]

And it got better about 2 am!!!

But always almost overhead was a constant pulsing from 10 pm to roughly midnight, sometimes pinkish. Lit up the entire backyard. And it was relentless, about the speed of those disco balls they used to hang.
That was to the north-northwest, and to the north-northeast were colors on the horizon. Then a few hours of nothing, and then the pulsing returned only weakly but the color show was spectacular!!!

What caused that pulsing?

[MarMema]

OK, pulsating.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/06/12/rare-pulsating-aurora-caught-on-video-and-nasa-isnt-even-sure-what-causes-it/

And it was very strong and behind clouds. Like someone had a pink light behind a sheet and the light was flickering. Not really flickering but pulsating I guess.
It lit up the yard quite well.