Bass
Hall
May
28,
2002
Photos by Christian from Germany ~ T H A N K Y O U!!!
| Dan
"Nails
It"!! May 29 2002 at 9:32 AM |
Fort
Worth
DanFan Dan Fogelberg ~ Ever On Group |
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| I've
had
the
pleasure
of
seeing
Dan
in
concert
25
times.
Both
solo
and
with
bands.
I
have
to
say
that
last
night's
show
in
Fort
Worth
ranks
as
being
one
of
my
favorites!
Dan's
voice
,
perhaps
'cause
this
was
opening
night
and
he
hasn't
pushed
his
voice
yet, was
crystal
clear
and
silky
smooth.
I've
seen
him
a
couple
of
times
within
the
last
couple
of
years
and
his
voice
at
times
seemed
a
bit
ragged.
NOT
LAST
NIGHT!
His
trademark
angelic
tone
was
very
much
back
again.
Dan
you
are
THE
MAN!
My
favorite
songs
were
Empty
Cages,
Changing
Horses
and
To
The
Morning.
Dan
brought
the
house
down
with
To
The
Morning
as
the
crowd
gave
him
a
standing
ovation
after
that
number.
It
sounding
so
good
with
the
full
band.
All
the
orchestral
strings
and
Dan's'
falsetto
made
this
song
really
stand
out! |
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| Ft.
Worth
Review
-
WOW! June 5 2002 at 3:36 PM |
Christian
Dan Fogelberg ~ Ever On Group |
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| Hi
EVERyONe
- just back from our little trip over the the States to see Dan and our EVER ON friends, here´s a few thoughts on the first show we got to see, Dan´s opening night in Fort Worth, Texas: Tuesday - May 28, 2002... a nice and warm evening in downtown Fort Worth, and more than 2,200 people crowd beautiful Bass Hall until each and every seat is filled for the opening night of Dan's 30th anniversary tour. The opening act, (Brenda Something?, her name was hard to make out), in real life lead singer with the Dallas-based band Oestrogen, was accompanied by a solo guitar player and performed seven songs about relationships and… well, sex. Praising Dan's upcoming “incredible voice”, she beat a retreat after 35 minutes. When the house lights go down at 8.50 p.m., five shadows enter the stage to cheers and tremendous applause – but it takes about two minutes before everything is ready for that announcement we've all been waiting for: “Please welcome: Dan Fogelberg”. Introduced by Joe Vitali´s solid drums, “Magic Every Moment” is tonight's opening number. There are still a few sound problems during those first few minutes, and Dan seems a little nervous at the start, but a beautiful new a canella bridge in the song brings the first mighty cheers from the well-mixed and highly appreciative audience. And did we get a fantastic set list that (opening) night… 23 songs, totaling 2 hours and twenty-five minutes! Dan (in cowboy boots, blue Levi's and a white shirt with black jacket for starters, for those of you interested in such details) informed us early on we were in for a three-part show: acoustic with band, solo acoustic and electric. Keyboard player Mike Hanna (whom I got a chance to talk to before the show), a longtime guest artist on Dan´s studio albums, had just played the first notes of song number six that night when Dan stopped him, saying “Hold it, I want to talk to these people a little.” He then praised everybody for buying his records, Cd's, tapes and eight-tracks, including – as an afterthought – those busy internet down loaders as well. “For the Morning” was then played as his “gift” to all of us, with a beautiful (first-time) band arrangement and some wonderful light effects. It got a long standing ovation, the first of five that Tuesday in Texas. After about 50 minutes and nine songs, Dan took a first short break, asking people not to go away. Well, about half of them did, anyway – and had to rush back to “Make Love Stay”, as Dan really took only about two minutes. The solo acoustic set included five songs, including a long introduction to all people mentioned and romantically involved in “Old Tennessee”… “Well, those were the Seventies”, Dan explained. He then went on to talk about the miracles and problems of “opening night”, blaming himself for mentioning it the next minute, because that was when his tuner went on strike. An extended bluesy version of “Old Lang Syne” was surprisingly met with another standing ovation and endless cheers from the enchanted audience. The electric part (after another two-minute break, and this time nobody dared to leave) began with bass player Mark Andes´ rendition of his earlier Firefall classic “Strange Way”, with Dan singing harmony vocals and a verse, followed by a great instrumental jam that had drummer Joe Vitali playing a mean Weisberg-like flute, before native Texan and veteran band member Robert McEntee (whom we talked to in Atlanta, see next review) got to sing “Walking Blues”. Dan let loose another four rockers, including a great version of “Empty Cages”, before saying goodnight for the first time. He seemed extremely relaxed, happy and cheerful when he re-entered the stage for the first encore, and Bass Hall again stood as one to return the smiles. “Gambler” was a great treat, and then – surprise! – Dan brought his new wife Jean out to join him and the band on harmonies, dedicating his second and final encore “If I Needed Someone” to its recently died author and one of Dan's heroes, Beatle George Harrison. Of the five DF shows I've been blessed to witness so far, Ft. Worth was the longest, liveliest and most varied one so far. My girlfriend Sonia, seeing her first-ever DF show, was really impressed with the intimate solo acoustic part, but I thought it was great to experience him with a band for once (other than on video). Last year's special concert on home turf in Colorado Springs was unforgettable for the great mood and witty jokes, but from a musical point of view, 28 May 2002 in Ft. Worth will be very hard to top for sure. There was no mention of the new album (unlike last year) or any new own material, though – but maybe this is just another sign we can count on a brilliant 2003 tour promoting “San Juan Blues” or whatever Dan's new release will be called. Here's the complete set list for Ft. Worth and three selected pictures; a review of the June 1 show in Atlanta plus the pics from that night coming up tomorrow: Magic Every Moment Forefathers Heart Hotels Hard to Say Changing Horses To the Morning Morning Sky Run For the Roses The Reach Make Love Stay Old Tennessee Believe in Me Same Old Lang Syne Leader of the Band Strange Way Instrumental Jam Walking Blues Blow Wind Blow Empty Cages Missing You Part of the Plan There´s a Place in the World For a Gambler If I Needed Someone Thanks to EVERyONe, especially to Dan for giving us these fantastic 2002 shows! Christian |
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