May 7, 1997 Chicago, IL Show Reviews
This
review first appeared in the alt.fan.kinks Usenet newsgroup on May 30, 1997.
Subject: Dave in Chicago
From: Fritz Milhaupt
Date: 1997/05/30
Newsgroups: alt.fan.kinks
My girlfriend and I made the trek from Ann Arbor to Chicago for this show,
and it was worth every bit of the effort we put in to see it!
We arrived at the House of Blues around 6:30, just as Dave was completing
his sound check, which sounded incredible. A bunch of folks (mostly from the
KPS mailing list) had already started to gather, from places as varied as
New York City, Detroit, La Crosse Wisconsin, Dallas and Houston. The HOB staff
finally let us up onto the show floor around 7:40. We all made a bee-line
for the stage.
The first act went on around 9:00- "Mystery Driver"- a band I'd
best describe as "frat-boy blues." Nothing spectacular, and rather
predictable. As their set wound down, the woman next to Leslie was heard to
say "Don't worry- the second act's always better." Boy was she wrong.
At 10:15 we received a shock when the second act "Hamell on Trial"
pounced on stage. Imagine David Carradine done up for the lead role in "Kung
Fu" (the original series) with a serious 'tude and a guitar held together
with duct tape and Elmer's glue.
At 11:30, after standing stage-side for nearly four hours, through a mediocre
opening act and a really awful one, Dave's backup band sauntered onto stage.
When Dave came out in black from head-to-toe, broken only by a friendshp bracelet,
we all went nuts. Those of us who'd held our ground were amply rewarded--
HERE HE WAS, NOT TEN FEET AWAY.
He opened with "I Need You," played with an intensity I'd not heard
before. And he kept it up, too, for a full hour and 45 minutes. It was without
a doubt the most intense concert experience of my life. Soon, we'd completely
forgotten the opening acts and were rockin' through his set.
I'm sure that others have the playlist (and hopefully will post it), but
the highlights for me were "Fortis Green", "Suzannah's Still
Alive", "Wicked Annabella" and "David Watts" (which
he had 'em restart). I wasn't disappointed with how he delivered a single
song.
Dave seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself, and pumping endless amounts
of energy into the performance. At one point, the strap mount on his acoustic
broke. He jokingly asked if anyone had brought a screwdriver, then continued
on with his electric. While they were fiddling with the acoustic, he commented
"I've written a book, you know. While we're waiting, I could read it-
it'll only take seven or eight hours." He performed about two dozen songs,
all told.
The crowd was pretty well-behaved and sang along with almost everything.
HOB is quoted as having a 1300 capacity. Based on that, I'd say there were
probably 800-900 there. The only thing close to an incident was a couple of
drunks continually trying to toss an album over Dave's monitor.
After his encore, he came out about thirty minutes later to sign autographs.
Leslie got her copy of "Kink" autographed and an unexpected hug,
which had her walking on air for several months afterward.
I've never had so completely enjoyable a concert experience (even WITH the
opening acts figured in). If/when Dave resumes the eastern leg of his tour,
I don't plan on missing his Detroit stop!
-Fritz Milhaupt
This review first appeared in Kinks Preservation Society mailing list
edition Number 586, May 9, 1997
Date: Thu, 8 May 97 20:33:04 -0400
From: Leslie Ohanian
Organization: Integrated Design, Inc.
Subject: Dave Concert !!!
Well, to sum up .....IT WAS FANTASTIC !!!!!!!!
I dragged my boyfriend, Fritz, to the concert and he loved it ! It was a
rocking concert and Dave was, well, Dave !
After the concert was over I was able to get his autograph on my copy of
"kink" and a hug !!! I ranted about how much I loved concert, and
his reply was "Of course, you had to say that."
I said, "No, I really mean it !!"
and then he called me a liar and laughed,signed my book and gave me a hug
- !! Sigh !!
-Leslie
