Today, for once, we had no problems.
This is due in large part to the fact that we didn't really have to do
anything.
No set-up, no tear-down, no large bodies of water filled with "carnivorous
whatever" to cross, no kidney stones to pass... that sort of thing.
In fact, the day was boring as all-get-out...
It rained for a good percentage of the afternoon so I sat in my room while
Hazdra practiced his bass and hung out with Nej watching a great cartoon show
called "Space Goofs"... it was extremely surreal and way over kids' heads I'm
guessing... so in other words catch it before they yank it off the air and
replace it with some toy-sales vehicle like "Power Rangers: The Unused
Colors" or "Tele-Barneys"...
Around 6:30pm we headed over to the Fox for a short practice and sound check
which consisted of several run-throughs of "Lazy Lightnin'>Supplication" ...
it started off sort of rough but after a few false starts the tune came
together enough that dinner was called.
I had the teriyaki chicken from the freshly-converted sushi bar which is
"attached" to the Fox (it used to be a burrito stand, and not a very good one
at that) and I was quite happy with the meal...
... NO, not because it was FREE...
We got a voucher each night which was good for one meal of reasonable price
and I'll tell you for free that it was definitely one of the healthiest we've
ever received...
... shoot... as I've said before we're just happy when we can eat at a place
that doesn't offer a "Super Size" option, y'know? Speaking of which, in a bit
of some-what related news:
Scott has gotten into the unofficial and very uneven "spirit of healthier
living" we're all trying to follow and has given up french fries on this
tour... I'll keep you posted but for the record he's hangin' in there pretty
well. And, of course... Beau and I order fries as often as possible when in
Scott's company...
Funny Story:
Just yesterday we ordered fries at this place but the guy across the counter
wouldn't serve them to us...
We got really mad at the guy and we were about to drag him out into the alley
and work him over until he explained that we were in a used CD store.
Whoops.
Where was I?
So while we're all waiting for our food we hear that the show is sold out...
this, as they say, is a good thing... and we were hit up by a few folks with
requests ranging from "miracles" to helping a guy propose to his girlfriend
at the up-coming Vail show (John had to decline)...
The show tonight was another "Donna"... 7/5/78 from the Omaha Civic
Auditorium and in my humble opinion, this was definitely the hotter of the
two Fox shows.
We had all gotten some rest and it showed... "Sugaree", one of my favorites
from last night got an even better treatment tonight, followed by an
energetic "Beat It On Down The Line" and a lightly spinning "They Love Each
Other"... later in the set Mike Maraat proved he's on the road to recovery by
belting out the previously mentioned "Lazy Lightnin'>Supplication" before the
break.
"Deal" opened the second set and John built the song into an explosion of
guitar, firmly establishing the mood as the drummers picked up with another
repeat from last night, "Samson & Delilah"... "Ship of Fools" featured
beautiful backround vocals by Mike and Lisa and John's voice slipped a bit
into an older, more pained Garcia than 1978 might have contained, but nobody
seemed to mind... "Estimated>Eyes" gave way to "Drumz" with Dino and Rob
playing the crowd about as well as they played their kits, the two finishing
in a blast of mallet-driven toms... a short "Space" blossomed into "Wharf
Rat>Truckin'>Aiko", and I don't think too many folks saw the early "Aiko"
coming... it swirled around for a time and faded out (with a sort of false
ending it seemed) followed by "Around n' Round", complete with the patented
Bobby howls and screams... if Mike Maraat was hurting, he sure wasn't letting
the crowd see it.
There was no actual encore to this show either (just like last night) so
after a short huddle the band returned to play "Help On The
Way>Slipknot!>Franklin's Tower" and it was a great way to finish the night
and the two show stand...
As always it was a killer experience all the way around here in Boulder and
the Fox Theater... I can't say enough about how nice the people are here and
what a beautiful place it is...
...but then again maybe I shouldn't... you all know what you have here...
We're off to Mishawaka and I don't know what sort of access I'll have to a
phone line, but tune in and I promise to get you the whole story as it
unfolds or soon there-after...