Guest Lisacat Posted May 8, 2010 Report Share Posted May 8, 2010 OK finally have it in me to do a review...I suppose I shall say something since I was out there for half the tour... I was very fortunate to be able to spend over 2 weeks out there and combine it with a work trip- did all the shows from Petaluma through Modesto minus the Olympia show (boo...that probably would have ended up being my favorite with all those yummy JGB tunes). Landed in Cali the weekend the band was still in CO and had a wonderful time hanging and partying with friends in Mendo and a then peaceful night at the hotsprings followed by a very nice birthday celebration. Its so nice to be able to go somewhere 2500 miles from home and have so many people to call family Spent the week in San Francisco and commuted to the Petaluma shows. First night was solid good fun, but the 2nd night I thought a different band showed up- they blew the roof off the place- the energy was so high. Seeing Aaron from HBR with them was quite fun. At one point Eaton and Stu got so close to Aaron from either side and all 3 of them were jamming so hard, Lisa completely lost her place at her mic. The Bobby McGee and Bird song were definitely the highlights of the first set. The second set exploded as well and settled into a beautiful standing on the moon. Its too bad we had some altercations on the dance floor that distracted from that but they were able to remove the problem from the spinner zone right before the around and around which quickly became the hippie victory dance. That night also turned into one of the more memorable trips over the golden gate bridge I will ever have. Portland and Seattle- ahh more good friends arrive!!! Nice show dedicated to Taper Ron at the Crystal- got my GDTRFB and the Dew. And the remarkable thing I can say about that show is that I was not roofied. Seattle was a blast-aside from the shoe police and the militant security guards who seemed to have an issue with my dancing. Looking back on this weekend and the fact I am having a hard time remembering much its no wonder I lost my cell phone for the rest of the tour. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I had my business cell to keep me connected to the rest of the world. Unfortunately I had to miss the Olympia show but I don't really know how I would have done that to begin with- 5 shows in a row is not easy for anyone. Ashland- probably my favorite stop along the way. I could go on and on about this one. What a beautiful town- lots of little bungalows, nicely kept yards, and very friendly people. I rented a house for the 2 nights right across from the venue. It was tucked back behind a bunch of other houses and had a nice deck off the back which sat right on top of the creek. Just lovely. The show was all about the dancing. It was a one drummer show, so I'm sure it was a bit challenging to Stu who is more familiar with the later stuff but I thought they nailed it ...the dark star got fairly psychadelic (or was that just me?) the stella blue was just perfect and fun fun fun Sugar Magnolia. OK back to the dancers- WORLD CLASS. I think 90% of the folks in that room were dancing- and no not just bee-bopping. Dancing, spinning and swirling. It was beautiful. Lots of chicks too, which I always prefer...and it did feel like a ladies night since all the gentlemen were kind enough to let us all be up front. There was this utter gratitiude amongst everyone that night and such a community feeling at that show- the whole room was participating with the music and with eachother- those standing let the dancers move forward, the guys moved back so the girls could be up front dancing. There was no alcohol (actually no refreshments at all)- so no issues with spilled anything. I met some really beautiful people that night, and I ended up finding out that they were friends with my friends in Cali. If we ever are blessed to have DSO play there again, I will be there no matter what. And good news, got a phone call from the Seattle hotel telling me they found my cell phone in the laundry chute THis is now 2 years in a row I lose my phone on the west coast and get it back! Eureka- tired and RAINY day in the redwoods. Stayed up wayyyyy too late in Ashland and make it just in time to Eureka to run through the rain, grab a beer, and go to the show. Yay first sold out show of the tour (yay for the band, not so much yay for those of us who had about 4 square inches of dancing space). I ended up in the lobby for a fair amount of this show just because it was so thick with smoke inside (well it was 420) and it was so packed, I couldn't dance how I normally like to dance. But that didn't mean I couldn't enjoy the show. I was quite surprised and happy to hear the Doin that Rag! The best part of my whole night though was walking outside at setbreak and bumping into a gal from highschool who I hadn't seen probably since graduation date. And boy times they have a changed! Ended up at the Red Fox after the show to see the aftershow gig with Melvin and hung out with her and her boyfriend the whole night. What a small world. By the way- Stu got to sit in with Melvin and did a very nice After Midnight>Elenor Rigby. I'm surprised the band was still up at this point after 5 nights of shows then a full-on 420 celebration. Reno- Another fantastic night. Missed part of the first set but loved the elective. Second set was huge- and another breakout, Masons Children! The Lazy Lightning was one of the best. Its funny how that used to be my bathroom song and it grew on me to the point where it can become the highlight in a show for me... and really dug the Speedway- super slinky and sexy and drawn out. I'm not going to go on about every song-but it was all so good. And the venue was way more packed than I expected it to be--still dancing room and pretty good energy overall in the crowd. SF- How could it not be fun? I do have to say I missed the Fillmore and GAMH...kind of weird feng shui at the Regency. Its a beautiful building - tons of history there. Actually, had an interesting conversation about it with Sarah and Lisa- it used to be a masonic lodge so that right there adds an unusual energy to the place. But much more relavant to the show was the set up- the doors opened to the side of the venue, the left side to be specific where all the dancers typically are. So what was happening was that people would come through the doors (there were 3 or 4 all along the whole side) and clog up the space and not move in across the room. Therefore there was a huge concentration of folks to the left side and much more room over on the right side. What happened the first night was that all of us got completely dispersed throughout the room and the energy felt really disjointed. If you were on the front-right, it was difficult to connect with the stage, the front-left was just a clusterfuck because of the doors, and the back I do have to say was probably the best space to dance. However, it was still frustrating that not everyone could be dancing together. Everyone kind of seemed lost that night. I do have to mention that Fire on the Mountain- whoaaa was that fun. Full on spinning in the back- everyone was in sync. 2nd night we decided game on and held down the left side and it was perfect. Hot hot hot Women are Smarter...what a great dedication to all those lovely ladies in the room with and then the Dew...need I say more? Modesto- wait back up, I'll just mention the weather was gorgeous and we managed to fit a nice little daytrip into yosemite. If you have never been there before, GO. The mountains, big trees, and waterfalls are stunning. The theatre that night was probably just about half filled- maybe not even that. Nice intimate place with dancing room up front- good way to end the tour. Was thrilled that some of the Santa Cruz family made it out. I won't talk about this one that much as I did in another thread- but lets just say the last show on the west coast is always difficult for me. Combination of burnout and sadness of leaving a place where I feel more at home at than anywhere else led to tears and lots of them. The show is on the archive- listen to the brokedown, midnight moonlight and bid you goodnight if nothing else. This was probably my longest post in quite some time- thanks for indulging me. I am truly blessed to have had the experience of being there for it all and I do love you all more than words can tell, thanks DSO. Enjoy the time off - you surely all do deserve it. xxoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP FunkyBass13 Posted May 8, 2010 Forum MVP Report Share Posted May 8, 2010 Awesome review. Now I'm even more bummed that I couldn't hit more shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advisory Board Dr. Barry Posted May 8, 2010 Advisory Board Report Share Posted May 8, 2010 If infrequent posting results in the occasional post like that then it is well worth the wait! Great post Lisa! Wow. Dr. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP chuckvegas Posted May 8, 2010 Forum MVP Report Share Posted May 8, 2010 OK, so how did the Seattle hotel call you if they had your phone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugdog Posted May 8, 2010 Report Share Posted May 8, 2010 Good thinkin' Chuck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lisacat Posted May 8, 2010 Report Share Posted May 8, 2010 OK, so how did the Seattle hotel call you if they had your phone? remember that part about the other business cell? Well after we dropped a certain someone off at the airport, we turned around and went back to Seattle proper and to the hotel to search for the phone. It was nowhere to be found, so I left my business cell number with the desk. Pretty simple actually. Not nearly as exciting as last year when it was left in a cab and there were a plethora of people who received phonecalls from the woman who found my phone and I was able to pick it up at her house in the haight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugdog Posted May 8, 2010 Report Share Posted May 8, 2010 ah...it all comes full circle...aside from that glaring inconsistency pointed out by none other than Chuck...Great Review!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP comesatime Posted May 8, 2010 Forum MVP Report Share Posted May 8, 2010 Wow , what a wonderful revue , Lisa ... such beautiful detail in your writing that I feel like I was there with you , and I wish I was ... DSO and the beautiful North West , what more can you ask for !?!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP chuckvegas Posted May 10, 2010 Forum MVP Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 I can't wait to see the review of the upcoming tour, with a special emphasis on New Jersey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redeyedbert Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 Great review. I really enjoyed it. I'm super jealous and mad at myself for not catching any leg of it. I was close to buying a plane ticket more than once on this last tour. Colorado, Seattle, Frisco, and SoCal were all looked at. I was close to clicking the buy button for a flight to LA for the last 3 shows. I procrastinated and lost my (reasonably priced) flight. If I went to every show I ever looked up a flight, checked hotel rates, or googled directions to, I would have gone to a lot of shows. Damn. When I read a review of shows I "almost" went to, I always feel like I messed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Tom Banjo Posted May 10, 2010 Forum MVP Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 Great review. I really enjoyed it. I'm super jealous and mad at myself for not catching any leg of it. I was close to buying a plane ticket more than once on this last tour. Colorado, Seattle, Frisco, and SoCal were all looked at. I was close to clicking the buy button for a flight to LA for the last 3 shows. I procrastinated and lost my (reasonably priced) flight. If I went to every show I ever looked up a flight, checked hotel rates, or googled directions to, I would have gone to a lot of shows. Damn. When I read a review of shows I "almost" went to, I always feel like I messed up. I don't know your situation, but you probably did mess up by not catching any of this tour, especially the latter half. Sorry, just had to say... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redeyedbert Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 I don't know your situation, but you probably did mess up by not catching any of this tour, especially the latter half. Sorry, just had to say... Lol, thanks for kicking a man when he is down. I know though. I could feel the good times oozing from the forums. My situation... married, no kids. We both work. The wife has been to some, and lets me go by myself when she doesn't want to. I work 4 tens and I get 3 day weekends. I have no excuse. I should have been there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP comesatime Posted May 10, 2010 Forum MVP Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 I can't wait to see the review of the upcoming tour, with a special emphasis on New Jersey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastCoastWest Posted May 11, 2010 Report Share Posted May 11, 2010 This was probably my longest post in quite some time- thanks for indulging me. I am truly blessed to have had the experience of being there for it all and I do love you all more than words can tell, thanks DSO. Enjoy the time off - you surely all do deserve it. xxoo To echo the above sentiments here, great post & take on what preceded the four show run several of us did down here in SoCal...it's interesting to hear about what went on just before I jumped on board the tour and leads to even more reverence for what they do for us, as you say, "thanks & enjoy the break"...we all always say "what a life and what a dream job", & it is, but it is also such a lot of work & energy on their part...I mean, I was wiped out after four shows in a row and really can't imagine what it feels like for them to expend that much of themselves night after night, I mean God Bless them man, really. But yeah, back to the post, I loved reading it, could really picture & feel the places, the scenes and feelings you expressed...and that, for me is what makes a good take...give me honesty, authenticity & passion and you've got my attention...so keep twirlin' & typin' L.C. & I'll keep readin'~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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