Dan Fogelberg ~ Humphrey's By The Bay Review ~ July 2000

Humphrey's is a combination of Hotel / Restaurant / Outdoor Theatre. I went down to view the lay of the land the day before the show. I was surprised to find it to be much smaller than I had imagined. This is an advantage to the viewer in one aspect and a disadvantage in another. On the advantage; all seats are fairly close to the stage. On the disadvantage; the seats are small folding chairs tied together. My suggestion - plan to stay at the hotel the night of the concert and watch it free from your balcony.

The people at Humphrey's are the best. Always helpful and friendly. If the shirt sellers don't take credit cards you can go to the restaurant to the ATM for cash. I know this because that was the case for me. Just tell them at the gate, where you gave your tickets to get in, and they will point you in the right direction.

I talked to the stage manager the day before the show, told him about the website and the tribute; "A Poem For Dan Fogelberg". He said to bring the poem down early on the day of the show and he would see to it that Dan received it. So I printed it out nice, went and had it framed and matted, wrote a letter to go with it to tell the story behind the poem, tell about the website, etc. I took it down early and gave it to the stage manager. (I apologize but I forget his name - and he was so very nice a gentleman.)

CiCi Porter started off the show. She was accompanied by the moon, a nice breeze and a voice that any sailor would steer his ship to. The only thing that matched her voice was the way she strummed that beautiful acoustic she held in her hands. She sang among others:
About a dear friend who overcame the slavery of addictions; "Song For Lisa"
About a tree that once stood where she grew up; "For The Ironwood"
About being with friends while fires raged in the mountains; "Pompeii"
And my favorite; "Wild Wolves"

They took a break between CiCi and Dan so I went and chatted with her for a bit. She and some others have started a band with a record due out soon. The name of the band has slipped my mind but I will find it out and update this. I will also have a link from Ever On to her page at Spin Records.

And then the moment we had all been waiting for:

Dan came on stage sporting blue jeans and a tropical shirt, grabs a guitar and sits down. He chats with the audience. If ya know Dan at all ya know he's got a great sense of humor. He jokes about the freeloaders sitting on their boats in the bay next to Humphrey's. Someone says "Best seat in the house." and Dan says "Wettest seat in the house.". He say's the Coast Guard will come and get them. He say's "Hell, we got the entire United States Navy right over there". He then talks about the people watching from the balconies of their hotel room. Various jokes about honeymooners and people who came for relaxation and instead got a concert.

Then Dan starts off by playing "Part of the Plan" and "Old Tennessee". Then a song I love to hear as well as play "Forefathers". This song is such a wonderful tribute to his ancestry and he does it so beautifully. Next was "Hard To Say" with that haunting line "...It's hard to walk away from love, It may never come again...".

Dan then set down his guitar and walked over to the black Grand Piano and has a seat. He starts joking again about the freeloading boat people. At that point a Coast Guard helicopter flies closer and he tells them "Here they come." Someone yells "Incoming". Everyone laughs, including Dan and he says "Incoming, that's good." Then he say's "Boat People" and shakes his head, knowing that we know that he too is "Boat People". He says "I would have mailed in my price of admission." and everyone laughs.

He then starts in on a song that is my favorite piano work of his; "Beggar's Game". This also has one of my favorite lines; "...She drew her bath and the window steamed, She looked like every woman ever dreamed in the heart of a lonely man...". He jokes again about the people staying at the hotel and tells them "I wrote these songs. I really did." and we all laugh. He plays two more songs while at the piano; "To the Morning" which was played to perfection and "Over and Over" to which I held my wife close to me throughout.

Now back to the guitar. He plays "Make Love Stay" which I'm sure is a question we have all had at least once in our lives. I looked up at the moon during this song and saw the silhouettes of a few gulls cross threw the moonlight. After this Dan comments that after he started playing this that one of the honeymooners curtains closed and the lights went low. Next up was "Nature Of The Game". I LOVE THIS SONG - "Fool's run where angels fear to follow, We've come to a place no fool would go..." I wish he would have played this song two or three times. It is such a powerful piece.

He then talks about a song that did not make it on the Christmas CD - It was originally called May Dance, then Yule Dance - Another song titled Yule Dance did make it on the Christmas CD - anyways he played this instrumental in the style of the songs on his Christmas CD. He played three more instrumentals "Buckaroo's Midnight Ramble", "Lazy Susan" and "Embryonic Journey". He asked if anyone knew the title of the last one and a guy yelled out the name as well as the artist - Jefferson Airplane. Dan was impressed that someone knew.

Then back to the Grand Piano again and a new love song "A Love Beyond Time". I can't imagine Dan not writing love songs. And this song holds true to our expectations. Now the most beautiful waltz in all of history "The Reach". I will not say anything more on the subject because my words cannot express it properly.

Next came the song with the wonderful imagery of horses and Kentucky - "The Run For The Roses" - For those of you that do not know, this song was commissioned by ABC Sports and played the night before the Kentucky Derby a few years back.

Time for the guitar again - He played a very memorable version of "Longer". Next he played the loving tribute to his father, Lawrence Peter Fogelberg - "The Leader Of The Band" and he finished with "Same Old Lang Syne".

He stood and bowed in his usual fashion, to a standing ovation, and then he left the stage. The crowd continued to cheer and applause until he returned for the encore "Along the Road". Many had started coming up the aisle ways and had to find a place to crouch or move to the side as the crowd re-seated themselves. A standing ovation again at the end as he left the stage - this time not returning. The lights came up and Dan was piped in singing "Magic Every Moment".

It was a wonderful show. Dan as we know him. Handsome, charming, witty, and every bit the musical legend we have come to know... All in all - Dan at his best - Live.

After the show I went to see if I could catch Dan as he left but he was already gone. I Talked with the Stage Manager and asked if he had given Dan the poem. He told me that he had placed it in Dan's dressing room. The Staff Security standing near the entrance to the dressing room spoke up and said Dan took it with him when he left. I feel that the circle is now complete. I have given something back to the man who has given us, given me, so much.

I was also looking for Kat, A friend from this virtual world that had stopped and spoke with my wife while I was running around, but never found her. Kat - where'd ya go. I chatted with some other friends from the virtual world. Hi Cheryl and Joyce. We talked about the concert and Dan. They had just finished a four-stop tour of Dan's shows and were going through the feeling we all go through after his concerts. I called it PDD - Post Dan Depression. Joyce called it PDS - Post Dan Syndrome - either way it's the feeling of knowing it will be awhile before we see him again.

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