Dan Fogelberg "Full Circle" Tour ~ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion ~ June 21, 2003

I just saw Dan Fogelberg et al at the Cynthia Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, TX. In TX he was everything I could have wished for in a performer. He got in 20 min before his performance but seemed to be in a very good mood and shared this with the crowd. The crowd was all ages and they sure loved his music! Maybe he just likes the Texas crowds better than anywhere else. They sure were enthusiastic.

I took my young 22 yr old cousin who had said, "Dan who???". She said she was really surprised that she liked the concert so much and would definitely like to see more of him. We're, of course, all old to her but she liked Dan. She said he was a poet-songwriter and I agreed.

He didn't sing "Old Tennessee" and I was sorry to miss that. He has some really incredibly talented musicians with him but he was definitely the highlight of the show. I was so happy to see him in this light after Peoria where he didn't seem happy to be there. Everyone kept yelling at him to take off his baseball cap, but he wouldn't do it. The cap shadowed his face so we couldn't see it. He did, however, push it back at the end of his performance so the audience could see his face. He did "The Gambler" for an encore. I'm sure they were tired ,but I could have listened to him and his band all night.

I was sorry not to see his wife perform with him. I understand that she did last year and was very good in harmony with him. Any way, I'm grateful for his music and now also his performance.

Susan

The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion was hot with little breeze, and the sun was still in the eyes of those on the stage at the 7:30 PM starting time on the longest day of the year. The concert started 20 minutes late. When Dan got to the mike, he said the bus got held up in traffic and said the next time they wouldn’t try stopping for food at Hammond, Louisiana. Most in the audience, however, understood stopping for good Cajon food when nearby. Dan said they barely had time to get ready, but he did have time to shave.

The Mitchell Pavilion is used for many concerts and has a good sound system, but perhaps due to the late arrival, there were some problems with hum on acoustic set that seemed to irritate Dan. Luckily, there was no “hum” during the songs. It seemed to me that the audio mix seemed a “little hot” for the some of the drums, and the piano sounded “funny.”

Thought he sun was down when the concert started, the band wore sunglasses though Dan removed his after the first third of the concert. Dan wore a gimmie hat throughout the evening making it very difficult to see his face. Several times people shouted for him to remove his hat, but he kept it on all night.

There was no opening act, and I noticed a few days before the concert that the on the woods pavilion site a few days before the concert that this would be "An Evening With Dan Fogelberg." The music line-up was the same as in recent concerts so I knew what to expect.

Dan said it was being webcast on the Margaretville network and in honor of that he wore tropical shirt. Keyboardist Michael Hanna wore a tropical shorts and was fun to watch the way he moved his hands and the expressions on his face.

Although I thought his last year’s Houston concert was slightly better, I enjoyed the concert this year. As usual, Dan was very entertaining and proved that he is still a talented musician. During the acoustic solos he played Lazy Susan from the “Twin Sons” CD. I have played that CD and the “No Resemblance” CD many, many times and introduced it to many friends. I hope he will write and produce another. His ability to play a variety of guitars and the piano is amazing, and unlike many other lead singers, he played lead for much of the concert including the jamming rock and roll.

Dan introduced “Same Old Lang Syne” by saying that it was a true story......but it happened to someone else. Then he said it happened to him but the ending was different in reality but would not spoil the song by telling what really happened.

The audience was really into the performance, and many were longtime fans. At the concession stand someone commented that it was hard for them to believe that the first time he heard Dan was almost 30 years ago. We both hoped for many more concerts.

The concert ended with a lot of energy with “Power of Gold” and “The Gambler.” Parts of the extended “Power of Gold” jam reminded me of Eric Clapton’s “Layla.” Dan had the audience behind him with the “Gambler” encore and encouraged everyone to sing "let it shine." The concert ended at 9:30 which seemed much too early for a concert that started at 7:50.

Jim