12/15/1997

First Set

• Shakedown Street
• CC Rider
• Friend of the Devil
• El Paso
• Loser
• Brown-Eyed Women
• Cassidy
• Candyman
   

Second Set

• Jam
• Simple Twist of Fate
   

Once again, big was a theme of the night. Our music was big, the food was big and the big surprise was the 2nd showing of Dennis. I didn't know he was coming in and it was great to see the big Beluga. All of Deadstein was there and except for Dennis, Spillboy was the only guest. I did not see him spill anything this week. I got there right at seven, very little traffic for a Xmas season commute and we got going right about 7:30. I have been practicing my Jerryesque finger picking recently and had several opportunities to check it out during the night. My amp was humming as usual so I finally bit the bullet and took it home for a Visit to Dave Hirsh. I should have it for the Chanukah show. This is the second week of Scott's new Tama and he seems a bit inspired by them.

First Set Comments

• C.C. Rider was very big.  It had the nice mellow groove during the verses and exploded during the leads.
• The Devil was like a brewing volcano waiting to erupt.  It kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger through Rich's, mine and Larry's leads.  It was explosive and just so cool to be a part of.
• El Paso was claimed by Larry M. to be by far our best ever.  It was right on target.  The tempo was cool, calm and steady.  It was mellow without the frantic worry of losing the waltz.
• Loser grew and grew through the lead but we did lose it a bit toward the end of the lead.  No one was willing to force the action to put it back on the tracks and it wavered a bit.  Better to waiver and enjoy the ride than to be force upon the straight and narrow.
• Minglewood was to be the next song but Larry B. claimed he was sick of it and that we played it too much so we skipped it.  We played a C.C. Rider anyway so who needs the Minglewood in addition to that?
• We have played a lot of great Cassidy's recently and it felt very fresh in my mind and heart when we started it.  I think this was that factor that sent us into playing it in such a freaky manner.  We were all soaking all we could out of the Cassidy jam in a new and different way.  This Cassidy was way out but always in control.  As a band, it is one song we have command of thus providing us with the freedom to play it for all it is worth.  And then some.
• I can't say enough about the Candyman.  It had some typical Deadstein timing mess-ups at the beginning of some of the verses but the lead was super hot and the singing of the "ooohs" after the lead was beautiful.

Halftime Eating Comments

• Dine-O-Mat - Once again another great meal delivered to us in total perfection.
• Philly cheese steaks we just perfect.  After Kevin's well done cheese burger he began to engulf a cheese steak in such a manner that the color come out would look as pretty as the colors going in. 
• Fries and Onion rings in grease soaked bags  were delectable. 
• Mashed potatoes were had by some.  Brotman didn't finish them and yet wouldn't deliver the remainder to his poor potato starved spouse.
• Dennis took a surplus steak sandwich home with him.  He didn't eat with us because he had a Bistro Burger just before coming to Deadstein.
• Soda with ice, lime rickies, nachos and that was about it.
• Spillboy did the pre-jam drink run and got pretzels with it.

Second Set Comments

• Dennis played my guitar for several jams while I played bass and Kevin groaned on the chair.
• It wasn't the best but I was getting into fingering the bass for the first time in my like.  It's a cool concept.  Pretty mellow stuff.
• Kevin finally took my guitar for a jam or two, it wasn't the best.  There was an aborted Bertha.
• To close we swapped back to original instruments to close with a song I cannot remember.
• All in all, another great night of Deadstein.  You got to love it.