Blog

Sunday, July 30, 2006

30th July 06

Ventura -- The Ventura Theatre
Quite a difficult room because the stage area is absolutley huge, and sound from the stage goes straight up and dissipates. Very hard to get any feeling for what you're doing. Lovely crowd who seemed to enjoy the show.

Saturday, July 29, 2006

29th July 06

Santa Cruz -- The Catalyst
Wonderful crowd again -- and I had a good night -- had a sweet tone and played well. Midnight Wine seems to work in every situation.

Friday, July 28, 2006

28th July 06

San Francisco -- The Fillmore
I remembered playing here with Procol, on the bill with The Doors one week and Floyd the next. On the wall in the dressing room was a poster with Jimi Hendrix and Albert King same night ---- WOW!

Great crowd, but Laurie said the PA was a bit under it.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

27th July 06

Konocti
Beautiful setting -- right on a lake. Excellent crowd -- good sounding room -- had fun

Friday, July 21, 2006

21st July 06

Denver -- The Gothic Theatre
I remember being at this venue before but not when. Had a very sweet tone onstage and the band played very well. Really excellent audience. Interesting place, Denver, would have liked a bit more time here.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

19th July 06

Kansas City -- The Beaumont Club
Laurie struggled to get the PA up to the mark and did not want us at sound check -- also said dressing rooms so bad he wanted us to walk in, do the show, and straight back to the hotel. Very good crowd, though -- I had good sound marred by a very loud buzz -- the worst of the tour so far.

Regarding my diary yesterday:

Unfortunately, even though I enjoyed touring the UK and Europe -- especially after such a long break -- it is not financially feasible to do it again, unless circumstances change. I appreciate that the terse announcement in the diary upset some people, and for that I apologize.

Even though there have been some angry responses to this announcement, it gives me a good feeling to know that people out there really care.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

18th July 06

St Louis -- The Pageant
Really great venue, very professionally run. Another wonderful audience.

Made up my mind today, will not play Europe/UK again until something changes for me over there -- the difference in turnout and response are so marked.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Sat/Sun 15th/16th July.06

Windsor/London, Ontario
Two "Bluesfest" shows in Canada -- how friendly the people are up here. First night was quite a difficult sound onstage, but the audience were great -- as they were the second night and we had fun too. Laurie said that both nights the PA was a bit light.

Friday, July 14, 2006

Friday 14th July 06

Columbus
Another great audience. Had a great time but a very loud buzz through my rig slightly spoiled it. Mark, a driver from way back, came by to say "hello".

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Thursday 13th July 06

House Of Blues Chicago
One of the best crowds on the whole tour -- felt they were hanging on every note. Switched to the Midnight Wine Strat because it weighs less than the other two -- had not played it since BB Kings and it sounded great -- more mid punch than Mr. Cream.

Sunday, July 9, 2006

Sun 9th July 06

Thunder Bay, Canada
What a beautiful part of the world -- had a wonderful drive along Lake Superior to get here. Show was an outdoor festival with a very good crowd and we played very well.

Saturday, July 8, 2006

Sat 8th July 06

St. Paul, Minnesota
This morning went up to the Cathedral of St Paul - what a magnificent church - awe-inspiring. Hoped to go to the 7PM Mass, but the show, for the first time this tour, was at 8:15! The Fitzgerald is a beautiful theater named after F Scott Fitzgerald.

Laurie said the the PA was a bit thin for us, but still the audience was great. BL was at the show, came back to say "hi!" - has not changed a bit - still a ball of energy - which is what I remember of his playing - a good groove and lots of sparkle.

Thursday, July 6, 2006

Thursday 6th July 06

Summerfest, Milwaukee
What a great crowd tonight out under the stars, and we really enjoyed ourselves. Still using the original OCD and played the "new" cream Strat, which , by coincidence has a very creamy sound ---- the old Marshall heads are holding up well so far.

Wednesday, July 5, 2006

Wednesday 5th July 06

South Bend
Large bar type venue. Laurie had trouble getting the PA up to par. After great effort on his part we ended up playing very well and having a good time --- a very receptive audience. Todd at Fender had sent me back my old cream Strat that he had turned into a Signature (new neck, new electrics) and it played and sounded great.

Sunday, July 2, 2006

Sunday 2nd July 06

House of Blues Cleveland
What a fantastic crowd! Tried out new Fulldrive that Mike sent me, promising but need more time with it. Went back to O.C.D. after 4 songs.

Played well and enjoyed it but tired after 6 shows back to back.

Saturday, July 1, 2006

Saturday 1st July 06

Buffalo
Outdoor show - Laurie brought show time forward because of threat of rain. He and Steve did a great job preparing thr stage for us because we had no sound check. Really great crowd and we had fun.