When I was in college one of my instructors explained to us early on the term
"Blivet"... he felt we needed to know the definition of the term because he
"used it all the time"... and DAMN if he didn't. I promise not to get into
the habit but here you go:
"A 'blivet', ladies and gentlemen... is ten pounds of SHIT in a five-pound
BAG..."
We finally left town after Beau loaded Scott's newly acquired Leslie speaker
into the already straining trailer like Dolly Parton getting implants... it
seemed totally unreal that we were dragging a fairly new trailer and we had
OUT-GROWN IT AL-FRIGGIN'-READY... and I can think of another three hundred
pounds of gear we need to bring on the NEXT tour if possible.
Lemme Explain -
The drummers and I have been thinking aloud about how to build certain
elements of the Dead's set-up I think that it's getting very Col. Kurtz (from
"Apocalypse Now")...we're going insane... slowly.
See, they want more stuff, so I need more stuff to get that stuff into and
out of the house stuff. Simple as that.
What's NOT so simple is the logistics of transporting, setting up, and
breaking down this megalomaniacal pursuit. All this stuff.
At the very least I wonder what effect (if any) this will have on Beau, and
what's gonna be the final straw.
Our intrepid crew chief wrangled the extra one hundred-fifty pounds of "loud
furniture" into the back and re-loaded all the gear he had to remove in order
to fit the speaker without any complaint and my hat's off to him...
... and lookie!!! We got ourselves a gen-u-ine BLIVET!!!
As we pulled away from the curb on Chicago Ave., I wondered if the axle would
hold out.
Turns out it would, but Beau kept a constant eye on it anyway... even while
sleeping in the newly-built "bed" in the back of the Touring Vessel...
The journey was rather uneventful except for thick fog in Iowa around 3:30am,
and coincidentally Scott was at the wheel.
Click Here to see the "Iowa Fog Incident" -Ed
We got into Boulder this afternoon and met up with most of the band at our
hotel... Rob, Dino, and I played some cards tonight, sorta taking it easy
instead of hitting town to hype the show... but word is going around about
the shows out here... Rob & Dino have already met up with some folks who
offered to take them to play golf tomorrow morning before sound check (YES,
they have clubs with them! Gonna have to address the "What Is Gear?" question
with the new guys... SOON.) and Scott's waiter at lunch was... colorful...
I had taken a walk to my favorite bookstore while Beau and Scott were eating
this afternoon and I bought a copy of the "Grateful Dead Taper's Compendium
Vol. II", which I proceeded to thumb through at the table when I got back.
"Is that the new one?" the waiter asked excitedly.
"Yeah... just bought it."
"can I take a look?"
"Sure."
"MAN! Are you guys going to Phil & Friends?"
"No... we're gonna be... busy."
(Quick look of confusion, replaced with simple acceptance)
So he's paging through it, and Scott asks "Are you going to the Fox tomorrow?"
"What's there?" he asked, followed by answering his own question "OOhhh...
Dark Star... no, I don't think so... I've seen them like, four times and
they're missing something..."
We listened to the rest of his critique ("They don't jam", "I'm really not
into the cover band thing" - Beau: "Didn't the Dead play a ton of covers?")
and when he had walked away we all chuckled. It's good to hear some negative
stuff every now and again... it keeps you balanced and reminds you that there
is ALWAYS room for improvement. Even though the guy had slagged us Scott
wanted to put him on the guest list for the opening show at the Fox, just to
see if we couldn't win him over with...
... oh... I almost gave it away there... but you'll have to wait until
tomorrow at the Fox to find out.
The Tag Line:
Scott still tipped the guy well. Honesty pays, folks!
Well... that's all for now. Tune in tomorrow when I'll give you all a look
into Rob & Dino's golf game, what I had for lunch, what songs are getting
sound checked lately, and a blow-by-blow of our first night at the Fox
Theater...