Rolling Stones, A Bigger Bang, Oct. 22, 2006

Zilker Park, Austin, Texas

They started building the stage several days in advance. We got there at the crack of dawn because it was a general admission show, and it was the Rolling Stones. There was only one guy who was already there before us, and he was a Stones concert follower who had slept in the park. As it turned out, they did not actually form us into a line. Everyone clustered along a fence, and the fence had multiple gates. When the gates finally opened in early evening, they told not to run but that was too much to ask. We had to get through a bag-checker and then it was a stampede toward the front. Luckily my husband was fit enough to be able to hold us a front rail long enough for me to catch up! It was one of the best and most memorable shows that I can remember. The photo of us on our front rail was taken by the security guard. The concert was filmed and put on a DVD, where we ended up with several seconds of screen time.

Ian McLagan and the Bump Band were the openers.

Eric Clapton's Crossroads Festival, June 5-6, 2004

Sorry, no pictures due to strict camera cops.

Dallas, Saturday, June 5

The Saturday show was one of the best concert experiences of my life! A priceless day for guitar-based music and I will try to put down the highlights here.

Saturday, the Stage and venue

The show was supposedly sold out and we were without tickets, so after being reassured that more tickets had been released my friend and I headed up to Dallas. Got to the stage on the Esplanade at Fair Park around noon.

We had snagged the front and center spot, separated from the stage by a photo/security pit. That was our spot for the rest of the day — not easy to keep! I left my spot only once during the day to buy some water. I ate nothing at all (she ate next to nothing) and we took no potty breaks. The water was rationed, of course. Did I mention the heat and humidity? It didn't hurt me any to lose a pound and it was well worth it.

Saturday, the Performers

Del Castillo is one of my favorite bands, so I was really happy for them that the "made the cut" and got invited to Eric Clapton's party. Very proud of our Austin boys!! I think they made some new fans too.

The "Guitarmagedden" competition for best unsigned guitarist went to Michael Kelsey from Indiana. Really enjoyed him and thought he deserved to win. The grand prizes were a new Honda Element, Gibson guitar and $2500 gear shopping spree. Pretty cool prizes.

My next highlight was Jonny Lang, I hadn't seen him before. He's got it all - great soulful voice, good guitar, stage presence! Wow! Next is my favorite guitarist in the world, Austin-native Eric Johnson! This is the last stop of his tour before going home and it looked like he was happy to see some familiar faces in the audience, and also happy to see that Eric Clapton had come out to watch his show from the side of the stage. I know that Clapton is one of his idols and biggest inspirations so it was extremely cool seeing Clapton digging on the show, and getting to watch them meet afterwards. I didn't realize that the Erics hadn't previously met, but apparently that was the case.

I was glad I could see that event from my vantage point. Dan Tyminski was up next, and I really love Dan (along with Alison Krauss and Union Station) but found it difficult to change mental gears for him as he was sandwiched between 2 very intense electric rockers. I would have hollered for my favorite Dan song, "The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn" but wasn't sure it would go over well in such a blues-rockin' crowd.

Waved to Jedd Hughes watching from the sidelines along with Clapton, Billy Preston and more. Doyle Bramhall II was really excellent, and was accompanied by fifth Beatle Billy Preston, Robert Randolph and Austinite J.J. Johnson on drums. DB is a former Austinite too, and has great musical genes and upbringing. Doyle and Randolph traded licks while EC enjoyed the show from the sidelines. Johnny A and Eric Johnson can be seen over there with him as the side of the stage continues to look interesting. Very cool people-watching and I've never been this close to Eric Clapton before.

Now he finally comes on stage to play with J.J. Cale and definitely injects some electricity into that set! EC is so great! Next up is John Mayer. I'd seen him on Austin City Limits and thought he was a good guitarist but couldn't take those facial expressions that he makes. In person he was really cracking me up with them, but after awhile it became almost endearing and I actually think it adds some style to his show, and I realized later that he seems to have borrowed them from Buddy Guy! He really is a good guitarist and very young so his future looks bright all right.

Time for Robert Randolph and a great show! He has one of the highest-energy acts around and will get you moving as long as you're not dead. I seem to collect stage souvenirs in unusual ways, this time I catch one of his thrown thumb-picks in my hair!! Now I have something to match the finger-pick that my husband caught down his shirt at another Randolph show. Here comes the All-Star Jam and finale for the day: Jimmie Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin and Robert Randolph!! It's hard to believe that all those people are right there in playing in front of us! We are overwhelmed and euphoric after one of the best days ever!

 

Sunday, June 6 

Sunday is the big day at the Cotton Bowl. My husband drove up for it, and after some hectic luggage-tossing we are off for Fair Park. We head to the nice air-conditioned building where all the guitars are on display for auction and Johnny A is finishing up his set. He is a fantastic guitarist and is the only person all weekend that I get an autograph from.

The Grinch shows up

Sunday had a weird vibe but not from the music, unless you get the blues from hearing the blues. We look high and low for a vendor selling or giving away earplugs (without success) because my husband has forgotten his at the hotel. Finally I tell him he can use mine, and realize that I have left my necessity bag at the hotel as well — so I not only do not have earplugs, I don't have pain/sinus meds, bandaids and a bunch of other stuff. grrrrrrrrrrr. Of course we aren't there even 2 hours before we start having headaches and sinus problems. I treat mine by borrowing an Excedrin and having a beer.

Our seats are near the last row at the top of the stadium where the handicapped area is. With my full beer cup in hand, I take a step backward and accidently trip over a wheelchair that had moved up behind me. Now I am seriously off-balance, trying my best not to fall down or hurt anyone — and after struggling and managing to catch my balance making profuse apologies and spilling beer all over the place — I sit down again to nurse my rattled nerves and headache.

Stadium rant 

Let me say right now that I don't like the stadium-concert-venue experience. Ugh! Never did. I was partly grumpy because yesterday we were a mere few feet away from Eric Clapton and our other favorites, and now we are so far away that I need binoculars to magnify the video monitors! I have to face the fact that I couldn't pull 2 days in a row that were as physically taxing as Saturday so I keep telling my inner child to stop whining. I was counting on a relaxing day in the shade in a chair to make up for missing the up-close experience, but all day and night we were grabbing all our stuff — standing completely up — literally every few minutes to allow someone in or out of rows of seats so narrow and small there is barely room for your knees. This is beyond distracting. It's partly because the acts have literally been scheduled back-to-back. They have 2 stages waaaay down there, and they set up one while they play on the other, so there is no time period allowed for people to get in and out at an opportune time. Not only that but my husband can't fit in his seat due to a very large person sitting next to him.

Sunday, the Performers

No complaints in this department. Heard Steve Vai, Sonny Landreth, Larry Carlton, Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin, and Robert Cray. Jimmie Vaughan and his band get another workout today as they provide backup several times during the day. First it's Hubert Sumlin and then David Johansen. Then Booker T and the MGs play some great classics! They also provide backup for Bo Diddley, David Hidalgo (Los Lobos), and Joe Walsh who turns in a wonderful and outrageous performance. Gears change again for Vince Gill, who is a much better guitarist than I realized. His vocal sound is what I would call "new country", and I'm not a fan of new country. Sorry, but I mostly liked only one instrumental. He had Jerry Douglas with him, who is one of my favorite players, but he is wasted here since I can't hear him at all. Is there a dobro-hating sound guy back there?

Next up is James Taylor, also with Jerry Douglas and I still can barely hear him. JT did a bunch of his classics, mostly songs about Carolina-something, complete with dry humor ("Nice place you've got here"). I love JT and always have but don't think his quiet sound fits the stadium. That changed when Joe Walsh came out and played on "Steamroller Blues". You don't see that every day. It was at least two hoots.

The Really Big Guns

Jimmie Vaughan and his band again provide the base for today's All-Star Blues Jam. B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton and John Mayer join him on stage for a terrific session!! B.B. says it's not only the best he's ever been part of, but the highlight of his career. Carlos Santana is next, and is finally joined by Clapton for "Jingo". Wow!! My face begins to grow into a permanent expression of amazement for Clapton's set. Like everyone else at the party, he selected a few well-known tunes from his long career. Doyle Bramhall II fits in EC's band like a glove. He was absolutely outstanding! Awesome!

Before I know it, my favorite guitarist of the day, Jeff Beck is up there with Clapton and Bramhall! This is the most beautiful thing I've heard all day — "Cause We've Ended As Lovers"-- the only song that he plays and he's gone. The Grinch Returns During Jeff Beck's entire performance, there is a person receiving CPR on the landing a few rows behind me. They were eventually taken to a hospital in a hurry but folks nearby said it was not looking good. I wasn't about to get in the way or stand there gawking so I just tried to focus on the beautiful music. Not easy. I hope that things turned out for the best. Add to this the fact that my husband has been feeling really bad for a few hours from sinus pressure, and has retired to one of the exit ramps where there's more air and less disturbance. The pills that would have helped are back at the hotel room, and he missed Clapton and Beck. Bad weather is beginning to threaten, so ZZ Top finishes off the party alone (no Clapton and Beck joining them) I had never seen them before and have to say that those furry guitars are the strangest looking instruments I've ever seen.

The car seems like it's parked 5 miles away, and we all have to eventually jump 2 fences enclosing the railroad tracks to get to the car. I do not "jump" anything that's higher than my butt, so this kind of thing is not my cup of tea, especially wearing flip-flops. I managed to make it with lots of help with the seat of my pants intact and my dignity gone. grrrrrrr. A festival based on a song named after a metaphor of a railroad crossing, and now I'm actually dealing with trying to cross the tracks. Ironic. Unforgettable This whole concert weekend has been amazing, and the hassles are something that I will laugh about someday. There should be a DVD released someday, so bring it on*. I'm ready for it, and was more than ready to get back to Austin with the cozy stages, small clubs, friendly folks and funky non-corporate atmosphere. I always am.

*note: the DVD is out, and I ended up on the Eric Johnson segment of it. People are still telling me they saw me on that DVD!!

Saturday we saw:
Del Castillo
Jonny Lang
Eric Johnson
Dan Tyminski
Doyle Bramhall II
J.J. Cale with EC
John Mayer
Robert Randolph

All-Star Jam:
Jimmie Vaughan
Hubert Sumlin
Buddy Guy
Robert Cray
Robert Randolph
Eric Clapton

Sunday we saw:
Johnny A
Steve Vai
Sonny Landreth
Larry Carlton
Pat Metheny
John McLaughlin
Robert Cray
Jimmie Vaughan
Hubert Sumlin
David Johansen
Booker T & the MGs
Bo Diddley
David Hidalgo
Joe Walsh
Vince Gill & Jerry Douglas
James Taylor, Jerry Douglas & Joe Walsh

All-Star Jam:
B. B. King
Buddy Guy
Eric Clapton
John Mayer
Jimmie Vaughan

Carlos Santana
Eric Clapton & DB II
Jeff Beck with EC and DB II
ZZ Top