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Re: ooo what a thrill -- and stb in Chicago



Just wanted to add my thanks to Emmee for posting her stb experience.
Here's mine.  (I'm still waiting for the promised 25,000 words from that
certain other lister.)

[Concerning stb in Detroit] -- I didn't know it was cancelled until I
arrived at the venue.  Similarly, stb didn't know it was cancelled until
*they* arrived at the venue.

Apparently stb arrived at the venue late, after weather-related delays
travelling from Chicago.  The venue hadn't heard from stb all day, so had
told the headlining band to start playing; when stb got there venue
management told them they had missed their chance, so there was nothing for
them to do but bugger off.  :-(.

Let me add my $0.02 to the reviews of Chicago already in: a light but
respectable crowd; a few people chose to ignore Simon's request for quiet
during "Water", but other than that pretty attentive, respectful and
responsive during the loud numbers (which were most of them).  RWNomad
roamed the entire floor snapping photos at will.  Simon pulled out some new
material previously mentioned from other shows:  "Hi Tony" for one,
"Highness" for another -- and played most of "among us".  Since there were
four bands on the bill that night, stb was limited to a 60-minute set
instead of their usual 90.  Ben taking charge nicely with interesting
rhythms on drums and Lindsay playing versatile keyboards and guitar.  Simon
leading things, but graciously peeled off to one side for James' occasional
guitar solo -- he (James) is quite accomplished as a lead guitarist, in the
Eric Johnson/Joe Satriani vein; Simon introduced him as a new member of the
band who was fitting in well and paid tribute to the talent exhibited by
all three of the younger band members.  I couldn't help but think of a Tony
Lowe/Doug Sandom parallel.  The band really is a different animal from
Simon and Ben's acoustic shows; the songs at top volume have a visceral
excitement that an acoustic show can't produce; OTOH, the acoustic shows
are more intimate.  Lindsay said he and James were having a great time and
would love to continue on to the West Coast but that Rising Records had
decided against it.  The band all came out to speak to fans afterward; I
certainly enjoyed the banter as Simon signed Otter's guest pass "in situ",
but I'll let them fill youse in on the details; WhoGirl scored a coup by
getting the setlist autographed. We had a long time to speak until the next
band (Cold) started playing, which pretty much killed conversation (for my
elderly ears, anyway).  Many CDs were sold and signed.  Then we took off
for the long haul to Fun Seekers to see Happy Jack.  (The drummer Andre is
an honored occasional poster to the list.)  We saw the last 1.5 songs of
the second set, and all of the third set (these guys have a large
repertoire from which to choose).  The band is excellent, and has the
additional benefit of having a drummer and bass player who you could easily
mistake for Keith and John in dim light -- Keith as he used to look, and
John as he looks now.  I recommend them to all fans in the area, don't miss
them if you can.

OK, the end.

Alan

"The Rolling Stones are the Microsoft of rock." --James Sethian