Thanks Jon for permission to repost:
jon c. - Nov 20, 2006 2:48 pm (#10261 Total: 10264)
I suppose the first question is, did anyone have Rehab Island as their “first time played” pick? Sounds like my kind of place.
These guys are just getting better and better with every tour and I totally enjoyed every show I saw. Started in Jacksonville, where Ratdog played the wonderful, old Florida Theater. A beautiful venue in a nice location with very friendly staff – who could ask for more? Thanks to Ruby, I had a 2nd row seat which left me in a position to join FLJen and Patrick on the rail, Mark side. It was a rather deep stage that gave the performance a sort of living room feel from my vantage point. (Also allowed Bobby and Mark the space to come out to the front during a jam in a classic ‘pretending to be rock stars’ move that the audience just loved?. I can’t speak to the sound in the rest of the hall, but from my spot I was probably getting a mix of stage monitors and house sound that created a depth in the sound that I have not heretofore experienced. Every note seemed to go right through my body in a most delightful manner. How could I not have enjoyed the show? They opened with Playin’, which had for a time gotten a bit played, but it’s appearing much less often now and was great to hear. And hearing my first live Book of Rules brought a big old smile to my face. It’s hardly their best tune, but so much fun to hear live. They closed with great energy (you’ve all heard about Around and Around by now), which included an Althea that seemed significantly reworked. The playing throughout was stellar and everyone seemed to having a great time. Mark and Bobby were locking in together even more than I’ve seen in the past and played some great jams. And the rest of the boys were surely not falling behind. Kenny was in as good a form as I’ve heard him and although he really shined every night, this one may have been his best. He totally tore up his solo on Sugaree. Stuff is becoming a better and better segment and on this night was really outstanding (was that a Mystery Train riff they were working around?). I was grinning from ear to ear by night’s end. I think this one does go in my ‘top three’ ever ?.
(The downside of the evening was the woman who complimented my Kenny Brooks tee shirt. Then asked if perhaps I was his Dad. Ouch. And the damn thing is, I don’t think she was all that much younger than I am. If she wasn’t over 40, she had led a hard life.)
On to St. Pete, where my love/hate relationship with Jannus Landing continues. In many respects, it’s one of my favorite venues. Great location, mellow vibe with a notable absence of security, and just a wonderful feel under the moonlight. OTOH, the crowd is always noisy and unfocussed and that seems to translate to the band (or maybe it just seems that way as it’s harder for me to become fully absorbed). And the sound isn’t the best, in part because it’s a small stage in a narrow confine (JC had to leave his Steinway in the truck for this one). But it’s a very aesthetically appealing old courtyard and noisy though they may be, the crowd always has fun. It’s just a sort of ‘street festival’ atmosphere that doesn’t really allow one to become wholly immersed in the music (it’s a great place for rocking out, but less so for the ‘transportation’ phenomena that’s kept me coming back these many years). Of the 3 nights I saw, the setlist in St. Pete was most to my taste, yet it may have been my least favorite of the 3 shows I saw. Which is not to say it wasn’t a great show, but it failed to reach the transcendence that I might have garnered from the set in another location. The highlight for me was probably my first ever Ratdog Memphis Blues. Oh mama, it was sweet. And of course the full Terrapin is always a crowd favorite.
Last year’s Boca show was one of my all time favorites and I figured this year’s couldn’t match it. It didn’t, in part because the sets didn’t flow for me as well as the prior year, but it sure wasn’t far off the mark. In contract to St. Pete, I think one reason I enjoy shows here so much is because the sound is just superb. Not only is everything crystal clear, but the sound seems to be able to mute the crowd noise somewhat. (I first realized how good the sound is when it dawned on me that I was getting every little nuance of every note Jeff was playing on the new grand.) Here I got Just Like Mama Said, so in 3 shows I got all the new songs. Hearing them on disc, this was my least favorite, but it had occurred to me that it sounded like a song that really needs to be heard live. And that was surely correct as I absolutely loved this one in person. The crowd seemed to like it as well. At least it held their attention better than I might have expected. In a surprisingly eclectic set, this would prove a problem as he really began to lose them with TMK>Even So. But damn, the end of Even So was awesome. Bobby’s wails punctuated by Kenny riffs. I was in heaven. And the October Queen that followed was surely the best rendition of that one I’ve ever heard. She Says is a personal favorite and either they’ve worked on it or the sound system made it possible, but they had the neatest full stops in there that I’ve never heard them quite achieve before. It’s but an instant of silence, but it worked so well. The crowd didn’t fully ‘return’ until they hit the opening notes of Liberty. They still, more than anything, want to hear the Grateful Dead. And at any given show, somewhere between ¼ and ½ the fans don’t really know the non GD material. This show was not nearly as rocking as the other two and I suspect it left some disappointed, but it was rich in classic Bobstar stuff and he was doing many of those scatty take-outs that I’m a total sucker for. That and a lot of very quirky little interludes left me hanging on every note. In the end though, the show was really all about The Eleven. I’m a fool for this one anyone and they just played the heck out of it.
Thank You "Voice of Energy" Blog for the heads up on this
2 hours ago
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