Daryl Hall

Tonight, Dawn and I went to see one of her idol's, Daryl Hall. To see him in a small venue like the Keswick Theater is just about as good as it gets. There were fans waiting for his arrival in the parking lot, when we pulled in. As we got into the theater, the crowd was mostly female, go figure, and many couples. Daryl's music is so soulful it makes me wonder where he got so much soul from. It must be from the fact that Phila. is such a gigantic part of the music business, with so many great acts along with Gamble and Huff, that as a native of the area, it just grew into him.

The band led by T-bone on guitar was note for note perfect. Harmonies were so good I was looking for the females to be hiding in the wings, only to realize there were no female singers on stage. The interaction between Daryl and his audience was to be expected for a native of the area. Personal accounts of growing up in the area, attending Temple and even joking about not doing any "John songs".

I will have to admit though, that I was disappointed in the precision of the "escape plan" for the entire bands departure. It ran like clockwork, and there was absolutely no chance for any contact with any member of the band. I would think that as a home grown boy, There would have been some interaction with the fans for pictures, autographs, but that was not happening at all. It was executed like a presidential arrival, with the band van running interference for the SUV that would carry Daryl.

I was hoping for an autograph on the guitar, but more I was hoping that Dawn would be able to meet and get a picture with Daryl. Too bad it didnt happen.

Widespread Panic

Last night I had the pleasure of doing my first job for Electric Factory Concerts by attending the Widespread Panic show. Having never heard of them in the past, I was unsure of what awaited me. Upon my arrival, I noticed many in the audience looking similar to a Greatful Dead crowd. I was able to see the guitarist Jimmy Herring, in the backstage area before the show. Long hair reminecent of Haight-Asbury days gone by. I was expecting an opening act, but at 805pm 5 min after scheduled opening time, they walked out on stage. I am not aware of the names of any of their music, so I will just list them as song number 1, 2 ,etc. Song number one made me wonder what I had gotten into. It was so very similar to the Dead, Phil Lesh, and other jam bands in that it went on and on for almost a half hour. I thought I was back in the 60's. The crowd was very receptive of the music, and I must admit, I was tapping my foot.

Musically, the band is extra tight. The guitar solos of Jimmy, the running bass lines from the 6 string bass in Dave's hands, the almost Santana sounding percussion coming from Domingo, all blended in to make even a critic like me of jam bands bop his head or tap his foot. After the first song, they broke into what I can only describe as a regular set with a series of songs that were no more than 7 minutes long. That to me is normal.

I was impressed with their harmonies, and by all accounts all of their musical talents. Combined it all led me to hear an almost unforgettable version of Warren Zevon's Lawyers, Guns and Money.

Having never heard of them I now understand why they are in the Pollster top 50 live acts. The crowd was so into the music, they became an extension of the band, reverberating the sound received from the band, back to them in the form of action and movement.

This Weekend

This weekend I will be very busy. Starting Friday night with a review of Widespread Panic for the Electric Factory Concerts people. They were looking for writers and I signed up. 2 tickets to the show and I need to have a review in within 2 days. Pretty Cool. Maybe my luck will be good and this can turn into a paying job with them Then possibly seeing also the Absolute Zero's friday night. Saturday night it is Daryl Hall. Dawn will be with me for that one as he is one of her most favorite artists. Hopefully we will get to meet him after the show and get the guitar signed, and Dawn can finally say she met him. This weekend is also the Great American Guitar show with Rick Derringer appearing. Not too sure if I can make that though as we have a movie date with the granddaughters on Sun and they live in another state. So stay posted by Monday there will be some new posts and pics up on the site to reflect the running around coming up this weekend.