CONCERT REVIEW 1998
WRITTEN BY KERRY J POOL
kjpool@cyberback.com

My ears are still ringing!!!  Two and a half hours of non stop ROCK &
ROLL!!!  It was the same set as always but they have FINALLY added "I Come
Tumblin, Into the Sun, I Can Feel Him In the Morning, and...can you believe
this???  THREE NEW SONGS!!!  For those of you out there that blew this show
off...shame on you!  You have no idea what you missed!!!

Now that some of you have just about fallen off your seats...JUST
KIDDING...please, please don't be too mean to me...I just can't help
it...I'm still pumped up from the show (my wife still says I'm obsessed, I
explained that it ain't going to get any better...only worse).  The set was
the usual one that we have grown accustomed to, and aside from some wishful
dreaming (see above paragraph ;-)  hehehe) we dearly love.  I never get
tired of hearing the boys play their music over and over!  I didn't meet
very many RKers (only one other) at the show but it was pretty much a full
house.  No kids, being a casino they didn't allow children inside.  That
made my 15 year old son very very sad since he has become quite a GFR fan
and wanted to go.  I was going to take him to the Tulsa show but now I
understand that it has been canceled.  How about another show in
Arkansas...Ft. Smith would be a good compromise if they have a venue to
hold the massive crowds I know would attend.

Back to the review...we had second row seats right in front of Mel.  The
last show I saw I was in front of Mark so this was a very pleasant change.
I really paid a lot of attention to Mel as he worked his bass, and I do
mean he worked it!!!  Being a non-musician but a music lover, I was just
amazed at the speed and energy he played with.  He was in rare form because
he did not stand still for very long.  He was back and forth from the back
of the stage to the front.  Then he would go over and play next to Don and
start all over again.  While he may have moved around more, his expression
never changed...he is just too cool!  Don was tearing up the drums and I
mean tearing them up!  He had to leave the stage for a moment to correct
something early in the show and returned after just a moment and finished
the show with no more problems.  Mark quipped that Donnie must have broken
his leg.  TNUC was the highlight of the show for me.  I've always wanted to
learn to play the drums like Don but even if I started learning today and
lived to be 150 years old, I'd never be that good.  I am just in awe.  And
the one thing that impresses me the most about Don is that he truly seems
to be enjoying himself.  I have seen bands that it was obvious that they
were just going through the motions but not our boys and certainly not Don.
 You can see the twinkle in his eyes as he plays for the crowd.  Touring
can take the fun out of it I'm sure.  But at least for now and hopefully
for  a long time to come, he is having a wonderful time.  Mark is
absolutely the best!  It was a live show and did not have the slickness
that a studio production will have...but that is the great thing about live
shows.  If you want perfection, listen to the cd (at least whenever Capital
finally gets them released).  There were some minor equipment problems (the
worst in my opinion was a faint echo that came through the mike system) but
Mark never  indicated that it bothered him.  There were moments when you
had to believe that he was not aware that there was anybody else but him
and his guitar.  He would close his eyes and play such beautiful riffs and
you just knew it wasn't for me, or the audience, or anyone else...it was
strictly for himself because he loves to play!  Then at other times, he
would make eye contact with the crowd and his expression made it plain
that, O.K. this part is for you!  And he would proceed to give us an
offering of music that was to be cherished and remembered forever.  Several
times, he gave us extended introductions to the songs.  I was especially
thrilled with the intro to "Bad Time."  He must have been improvising
because for one brief moment I did not recognize it and thought it might be
"new stuff."

The crowd was very hesitant at first.  Only a few would stand up and dance
with me (and the little time I wasn't on my feet I was dancing in my
chair)!  But after a while (and for some, a few beers) the crowd warmed up.
 Sam's Town uses the slogan "So close you can almost touch the stars!"
Well about 2/3 into the show, the crowd could no longer contain themselves.
 They didn't want to "almost touch" the boys, they wanted to TOUCH the boys
in the band.  Well some did get to touch Mark.  The crowd jammed to the
front of the stage and no amount of urging from the security crew could get
them to return to their seats!  We stood, and we danced and sang and rock
and rolled for the remainder of the show.  It was great, great, great!
Before the band came back on for the first encore, the crowd in the back
began a chant of GFR and started stomping their feet on the elevated
platform they were on.  Even when the boys came back on stage, the crowd
continued to chant and stomp!  Don appreciated it and began to nod his head
in time with the beat of the stomp.  I thought for a moment we might be
treated to an impromptu drum solo...more wishful thinking.  ;-)

This is getting long so let me close by saying that unfortunately we did
not get to meet the guys after the show nor did I get to meet Sunny
although I know she was there...I missed you Sunny...sob. ;- (   I was able
to get what I think are going to be some very good photos of the show
(second row remember?  and I too went up to the front of the stage at
times).  I will have them put in for processing tomorrow!  I should have
some really good closeups of Mark when he came and played right in front of
me!  Alas, I am experiencing that dreaded "post grandfunkengroovin
syndrome" and must now start the recovery stage by going to the web site
and planning another road trip!

"I Can Feel Him...Kerry"

See Kerrys pictures