Tuesday, April 06, 2004

Another detailed review! This one from FlJen:

FLJen - 05:05am Apr 6, 2004 PDT (#15170 of 15211)
Egyptian ring

We left the house at 4:20pm on April Fool's day, having just pulled some almond chocolate chip biscotti from the oven to take with us.
Next morning up at 4:20am to Orlando to catch a flight. Arrive Boston no problems but it is dark and misty and cold. Catch shuttle bus to rental car. Minor problems with that so the guy fixes us up with "a good one" though we paid for economy. The good one was a chevy tracker with 4 wheel drive and I'm instantly relieved that if there's snow in NH or anywhere during the journey we will fair well. Away we did ride! I'm now navigator in a place we've never been, a stack of mapquest printouts about 20 pages long. It starts right away with the tolls, through the tunnel we go. Arrive Worcester no problems. I was glad that we got the pronounciation correct before going there as to not be embarrassed.
"Wusst-err". ok. Patrick tells me he is already for line duty at 1:00pm. I whip out page 23 of mapquest to find the suggested health food store/restaurant to meet some folks for lunch. Super yummy pita with some type of green goddess dip and we order salads, hummus wraps, smoothie for my friend's son. We laugh and chat girl talk. Hugs and a quick picture and I'm on my way.
Line duty provided a chance for me to reunite with tour family and meet Ebeth, Steve, Eli. It was so sweet to see familar faces when so far away from home. I noticed Ebeth didn't have socks just sandals and made a run to the car to give her my extra pair. The biscotti was a hit! Everyone who came up to the front to hang out & chat got offered some. I knew it would be something that would stick with us during the hours we were going to be in that line. It was so cold especially for us. The wind was whipping right through us since venue moved us & the barricade around the corner instead of right in front where we were. Finally it is showtime and my stomach is all full of butterflies. We make our way in after some scolding by security because some folks were a little overanxious...frisked, checked then in doors. I run in and find myself in the freaking BALCONY! How do I get down to my spot I waited hours for?! no problem, it's there for me. The family will make sure of it & they do. Ebeth and I chat about the band like giggly schoolgirls I felt 16 years old.
:weird house music that felt like an assalt on my senses. Opening jam is lovely! > Feel Like a Stranger I didn't expect, it caught me off guard. Ebeth and I thinking that He somehow knows what we've been consuming. She Belongs to Me!! oh he began with the hand motions and guitar thrusting. I can't remember seeing him do this before except during Estimated. There was the beloved ((((telecaster))) to carry us through it all.
 Minglewood Blues- excellent, Mission in the Rain, good, Lost Sailor > Saint of Circumstance--these two were completely soothing!!! Kenny slid us right into LS, the sister songs were IMO the highlight of the entire show that night. Then > Jam > Althea. I began to panic during Althea. Bob was forgetting the words but instead of him smiling and shrugging it off, he started to become sullen and lost. It was as if the words were stuck in his throat. He knew them but couldn't make them come out. I tried to send him strength & remind of blue to open the throat chakra but myself was starting to feel unsure about this show. He completely stumbled and cut the first set short, nixing two songs, with a look that seemed to say "that's it". He's stumbled many times but this was different.
::set break::
Chuck comes on and tells about the recording and Head Count. Some guy behind me started heckling him & trying to engage him in an argument right there. All the energy was shifting at that point and I felt so uneasy. People kept talking about the fire there so that was lurking in the back of my mind the whole time too.
II: K.C. Moan@ --not my favorite but this was good, somehow when the acoustic breaks out we are once again reminded of how beautiful it all is..Bob is back into the groove and bringing it all home for us...then > Jam@4 > Me and My Uncle@, Jam@ these solos during the jams are so intense they make me crosseyed..sometime during all this Robin got his solo time complete with spotlight when Mark and Bob and Kenny had left the stage..my heart swelled for him, finally his time to really shine! and he did it so nicely > When I Paint My Masterpiece@ led us all down that nostalgic path as it always does > New Speedway Boogie--surprised me > Even So--what a dark song but somehow by the end of it everything is alright again > October Queen > The Deep End > Saint Jam > The Wheel > Bass/Keys/KB* > Jam+ > at this part when Jeff got on drums and Jay on Keys someone asked me who was on keys I said Jay and then it was as if we were in the bizzarro world. lol. I was surprised how Jeff could lay down a beat. Space > Black Peter > China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider
E: Ripple@ oh how I love Ripple! I know the song isn't hard to play/not too impressive musically but the lyrics simple, zen send us off on a fine note to sleep by. The outside lot is crowded mess, a hotdog/sausage vendor is right there in front of the doors and stunk so bad it made me feel sick. Again to mapquest stack to tell us how to get to Salem, NH. We're northbound.