We left Chicago around 3:30p from Scott's place... due to equipment cartage
Scott and I are in the Touring Vessel and Beau and Ahmer in the Ah-Mobile...
when we got to Shank Hall there was no one around to let us in so we collected
a freshly arrived Mr. Hazdra and went in search of some grub... some Chinese,
we figure...
I should have known it was gonna be one of those evenings when Mike turned to
the hostess seating us and asked if the washroom in the place was a "two-
seater"... use your imagination for the rest of the table conversation but I
WILL tell you it never really got much more enlightened than that... looking
across the small room at some of the other patrons' reactions as they listened
in on our discussions I thought "well, we ARE here to entertain the good
people of Milwaukee...".
Let The Games Begin...
When we got back to Shank Hall, the rest of the band was loading the last bits
of gear into the place and I walked in to check it out... nice sized room, the
stage didn't seem like it would be too small, PA looked good... this is gonna
be -
"Shit!" Scott exclaims, bent over a copy of the local paper.
Note To Self: Hold that thought.
"What's up, man?"
"F-ing BLUES TRAVELER is in f-ing town tonight! Phish is in Chicago, now
this... ugh... well..."
Marvelous... can we just go home now?
But we don't... the stuff gets set up, I go through my irritating blend of
Spice Girls (no, I'm serious) and Phish, etc. listening to the different parts
of the PA which to my surprise doesn't need a whole mess of tuning... now, if
we can make Maraat happy with the monitors I think I'll have a fighting chance
with a light crowd...
(Side Note: More people in a room usually is a good thing solely from the
standpoint of how an engineer can run a PA... not to mention get paid at the
end of the night but hey, I've done freebees in the past... plus if I do a
good job I get to ride in a seat instead of that dark little box they usually
keep me in.)
Sound check was lacking both on the part of the band AND myself, but I'm
really not all that worried... backstage the band jokes about just working on
stuff instead of playing an actual show... "Thanks, folks... now, for the
sixth time in a row, here's 'Help->Slip->Franks'..." but finally decide that
the three or four people in the place deserve better than that... and I
believe they got it.
It was a '93 show with some tasty tidbits... I remember "Black Throated Wind"
as being good, a "Rooster" with one of the most irritating slide solos I've
ever heard Mike do (Note To Self: He really CAN play like Bobby I guess), and
a nice "Lazy River Road" in the first set, but I was tinkering with the PA for
most of the time trying to tighten up loose ends and it seemed the band was
trying to do the same... by the end of the first set there's actually a decent
little crowd assembled, even if most of the butts are FIRMLY tied to chairs
instead of shakin' around... at least every chair is FULL, and that's a
start... and people seem to be enjoying it...
After a tidy 25 minute set break the second set opened with "H. C. Sunshine"
and it was quite good... this was the song we did for check and it was semi-
horrendous then but as usual the band sounds MUCH better when playing the song
for real... next the mini "rain-set" with "L.L. Rain" and then the second-ever
"Box of Rain" with Hazdra...
Side Note: The last time they did this song (sorry guys), they butchered it...
this was the exact opposite!!! Hazdra nailed it vocally and the band breezed
through the song... it was a wonderful moment for those of us who'd seen the
last one... GREAT to have that song back...
A mellow "He's Gone" led to "Drumz/Space" and at this point I notice a table
of guys loudly disputing the next song...
"I'm tellin' you... it's "Last Time", "Wharf Rat", "Trowin'->NFA", dude..."
"No, "Wharf Rat" comes out of "Spa-"
"F- YOU, man... It's -"
...just then Mike started the opening strains of "Last Time"... argument
settled...
Walking, Talking Deadbases freak me out sometimes... but that is indeed how
the evening wrapped... a nice "Liberty" and then the elective which was
"Help->Slip->Franks'"... only once though, not six times like was threatened
before the show... but I'm sure the assembled crowd would have stayed had we
done it... FINALLY people were "out of their seats oh yes an' clappin' their
hands..."
Score.
The ride home can best be described as "out in the cold rain & snow"...
stopping for gas, Scott and I ran into Dave and John and we joked about the
"buy one get one free" Slushie deal they had... the attendant looking like he
wanted us to get back on the road as soon as possible, and a horrible flaming
crash soon after would have probably put the cherry on top of his evening...
Back in Chicago I transferred my racks to my car, and I kid you not, was
followed all the way home by two separate squad cars... nice of the officers
to care about my safety, don't ya think?
Big thanks to Carl the house tech who made Dave's & my jobs that much easier
as well as a nice job doing lights (another house tech who's been to a bunch
of Dead shows is ALWAYS a good thing) and to the Chicago freaks who made the
drive and the Milwaukee folks who took a chance... you made our night.
See you after next week's shows, gentle readers...