Sunday night's 2nd concert of the August Tour 2001 was lovely in every possible way! The Traveling Fans gave up their 6am appearance at the venue and were much more relaxed about the line after Saturday's experience. It's a good thing, too, since it was much warmer Saturday, and I would have hated losing fans to the heat! It did rain a bit during the day, and the clouds were ominous at concert time, but we were treated before the gates opened to a lovely rainbow over the Sandia Mountains behind the casino/venue. How LOVELY! FASHION REPORT: JH: same as the prior night; long-sleeved white shirt, black slacks JL: short-sleeved black shirt with two guitars on the front (looked great!),black slacks Ray: same as the prior night, long-sleeved black shirt, black slacks Bernie: same as the prior night, low cut, halter, black jump suit, NO SHOES Someone posted a question about "no shoes", and it was exactly that: our new BUV/keyboard player came out both nights for the final bows with no shoes on. I noticed last night that her toes did have red polish. I don't know if she goes shoeless for the entire concert, I can only say that they are missing at the curtain. Perhaps Bernie HAS NO SHOES, and I think that fans must consider that pitiful state! Perhaps a fund-raising effort is in order? (LOL, I"m Joking!) It may be her artistic temperament that causes shoes to annoy and distract her during the performance. If so, Keep them off, I say! Anything for a great performance. VENUE NOTES: Sandia will always be distinctive to me for several reasons. First, the view from the top of the venue is gorgeous! The food is cheap; they offered a hamburger combo, drink, sandwich and chips for $5. Not screwing the crowd there! No guards hassled us in any way in the venue, they were low-key. Despite prior reports to fans that people on the lawn in front of the stage would be ejected for standing, we were never hassled, though standing was respectfully kept to a minimum for two reasons: one, it would block others view, and two, we're so damn old on the front row, that getting up at ALL from the grass was difficult. For that reason, we did not stand during Singer! We did stand for Question, and remained standing...I wasn't sure I could crawl to my feet again. LOL! I must say that all the Sandia staff from box office to security was obliging, helpful and friendly. Good for them! THE CONCERT: Sunday's concert was vastly improved over Saturday. Overall, the Band played much more together, and things seem to have fallen in place. There were less minor screwups! John was much more energetic, Justin a bit less so. They had less "bug" problems than the night before (note: *we* got the bugs last night and fought off huge bugs in the front row. What do they want??) The wind was also much less, and so Justin got to pay a bit more attention to Big Red, than to his blowing hair. There was one change in the setlist from Saturday: A wonderful rendition to TOSOL was included. LOAM was still a grave disappointment. I noticed clearly last night that Paul is using a piano sound keyboard for LOAM: imo, it doesn't work. Lose it! The venue was not sold out, and some empty seats were noted. It was not nearly as large a crowd as Saturday. Easier to leave the parking lot, though! Both the Band and Sue and I have a rest day today and we ALL need it. Though it wasn't as hot as we expected, it was hot enough to be wearing. Off to San Diego tomorrow! Maggie |
