A little mention on the daily note from Tommy Shaw page
www.styxworld.com
5/25/03 - Down to the wool in Washingon, and other delights.
Hello Friends,
We arrived here in Yakima, WA around 2:00 this morning after playing
in Boise, Idaho last night. It was still daylight when we performed
(hard to tell from inside the huge dark arena) and because we went on
first last night it was still daylight as we boarded the buses to
leave. WOW! That's a first.
As we predicted when we first settled on who would play in what
position on which shows, way back before we put this Main Event on
wheels, it seems to make no difference. Fans are settling in with
almost military precision from the beginning of the show and hanging
tough until the end. Sometimes it might feel like the middle position
is the best because everyone who's coming is probably there and it's
unlikely anyone is going to leave that early. But then again there's a
lot to be said for getting to the audience first, while they are fresh
and full of expectation. Then there is the argument that
perception-wise, it looks better on Journey's resume' to play last
because it looks like STYX and REO are their opening act. But the
other side of the coin is that Journey inherits the audience that the
other two sides of the triangle have just bombarded with their very
best. The third spot on this evening is a challenging position, but of
all the bands on the face of the planet, Journey is one band you can
count on to energize this audience with their insanely wonderful list
of songs and awesome musicianship that demands the best an audience
can deliver. The fact is, there's not a bad slot to be had on this
tour. You'll see. It's an act of love, and you may feel like smoking a
cigarette on your way home...
This tour is a shining example of something that looks great on paper
and next to impossible to execute. But because of the cooperation and
understanding of all the parties involved, it is flying flawlessly by
and in the process making better bands out of all of us. It has also
turned a collection of the finest crew members in America into a new
corpse of troops that deserve their own rank and standing. I think of
the challenge they faced when first taking this concept under
advisement almost a year ago, and look at them now at the end of the
night as the show gets torn down and loaded out, to see how relaxed,
confident and proud they are. It is something to behold. The number of
"notes" " (details we notice in the midst of the performance we'd like
to adjust, change, add or omit) that we discuss with the crew
afterwards has trickled down to only one or two every couple of days,
and they are now becoming tinier and tinier. Like when you start with
the roughest grade of sandpaper and eventually get down to steel wool.
We're down to the wool now. The show you see and hear out front is in
a large part a direct result of the work our crew does on the other
side of the curtain. They have once again made it look easy.
Have you seen the Arch Allies concert on DirecTV? I just watched some
of it on the bus as I had my morning coffee a few minutes ago. It's
something to see "old" concert footage of this lineup. The truth is,
we are now entering our 5th year as what some lovngly refer to as STYX
v2.0. Time marches on and takes no prisoners...
We watched some of Pete Townesend's "Lifehouse" DVD on the ride from
Boise last night and marveled at how he's just as vital, and even more
soulful than he was at the Fillmore East in 1968. We are finding that
just like the great Jazz and Blues legends, Rock icons are proving
that they can continue to make great music and move us with their
performances even into their later years. For us to be hitting it this
hard at this stage of our careers tells us that we have many great
years ahead of us. It's the same way that many of you out there are
finding that the lessons you've learned on your way to your current
age are lifting you up like standing on the shoulders of giants, and
that your best days may still lie ahead you. It's something I don't
think I would have believed if someone had tried to explain it to me
30 years ago.
Tonight we return to The Gorge in George, Washington. Once again we
are paring back our production as a bow to Mother Nature. If ever
there was a gig where that was fine and dandy, this is it. It's as if
a power greater than ourselves was tapping us on the shoulder and
whispering, "You think YOU have an impressive production? Check THIS
out..." If you've ever been there you know. The natural amphitheater
overlooking the Columbia River beats anything we could ever truck in,
so we'll see if we can add a little fringe to it, and let the music do
the rest.