As tired as we were, we all had pretty lousy night's sleeps. Again, might be better if the beds weren't so small, and it might have been better if we could have actually turned down the heat in the room (we figured out how to crack the window for the next couple of nights). And it might have been better if my bed hadn't apparently hosted a thousand-pound gorilla recently. It was not an old bed but had a distinct list to it, that I corrected to a large degree that morning by stuffing pillows underneath where the mattress was most depressed.
Dave found a great aud of last night's show had already been posted, so we had a soundtrack. After breakfast Dave and I went in search of a local CVS that Google Maps showed us so we could get water (horrible tap water). Amusingly, it was integrated into a huge Target on top of a massive parking garage and we had to climb four stories to get there while the Target Dog (tryout?) paced us on elevator (nice chick on the leash). We needed the exercise I guess.
Played a round of Tapestry in the breakfast room later that morning. I took a second city walk on that sunny, almost-warm Saturday (March 18), and then had a nice nap. Sarah and Dave were down in the bar when I got up, but it must have taken me a few hours to really wake up. Maybe it was the stress but I was not feeling 100% ... but soon we were in the balcony at the Cap again and everything was fine. Usually Friday is the crazy, crowded night, but Port Chester on that Saturday was wall to wall people. There was a massive traffic jam downtown, Kiosko was more packed than I've ever seen it, and the theater itself was stuffed. Whatever ... they came on with a little delay and played the best concert of the weekend.
- Deal
- Jack Straw
- Peggy-O
- Cassidy
- Loose Lucy
- They Love Each Other
- One More Saturday Night
Again, this band shone. We've seen several not-incredibly-well-rehearsed sets from Phil & Friends, but these guys were tight and got better and better through the set. They successfully achieved lift-off in Cassidy and then Grahame and Nicki roared back to earth for the precise refrain. And then Nicki provided the highlight of the set again with a rocking, rambling, funky Loose Lucy that had everyone jumping up and down. Another highlight was Rick's superb, right in time vocal on One More Saturday Night.
Another longer than average set break, but eventually the backstage camera showed us Phil gathering everyone for a backstage huddle, and then the straggled back out onto stage. Halfway through the weekend already again! But now it was time for the best:
- Eyes of the World
- The Eleven
- Uncle John's Band
- Sugar Magnolia
- Dark Star
- Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
- Dark Star
- China Cat Sunflower
- Terrapin Station (refrain)
Great start with Eyes, led by Grahame's great rhythm, Phil's monstrous lopes, and James's emotion. And what a set list to follow! I had to shake Dave several times (and he shook me) to verify that they were actually playing such a great selection from the best of all time list of songs. I mean, look at that list! As delighted as we were when they played Dark Star, when they went into LSD it was just surreal. James and Nicki sang the verses (or at least tried to, they stumbled on some of the words, "Yeah I know that's what the teleprompter says, but that's just weird ... I mean, what's a newspaper taxi?").
But the weirdest part of the set was when China Cat was winding down and we were settling in for an excellent closing Rider, and then Grahame called the band all together around Molo, as he had at that juncture of the evening the night before. We were ready for something unexpected, but not for this jump, right into the middle of the last section of Terrapin!?! That was weird, especially when they quickly wrapped it up, smiled at the crowd, and then left the stage. That was a mind-blower.
Phil came out for another lovely Donor Rap, and then introduced the band again. To my delight they encored with their upbeat cover of Ripple, I love hearing this great song played at such a delightful pace. And then it was over. Watched Phil fiddle with his amps one more time and then shuffle off stage, and we also shuffled away. Down to the street and back up to the car for a routine ride back to the hotel.
No comments:
Post a Comment