Dan Fogelberg ~ Humphrey's 2001

I got home this evening, after spending a relaxing weekend in San Diego with my best friend from my college days. We attended the concert on Tuesday night, and I'll try to give you an idea of what we witnessed...

The weather was very pleasant, although there was a pretty strong breeze blowing in off the water. Karla Bonoff began the night, accompanied by Kenny Edwards(a big teddy-bear sort of guy, who can play the heck out of most stringed instruments). She played guitar and piano, and he played mandolin, bass, guitar, and back-up vocals. I've been a fan of Karla's for a lot of years, and that was the first time I have ever seen her perform live. She was excellent! The songs they did included:

I Can't Hold On
Falling Star
Home
If He's Ever Near
Goodbye My Friend
Someone To Lay Down Beside Me
All My Life
The Water Is Wide

She kept getting mouthfuls of hair thanks to the wind, which she mentioned during the break between songs. She joked about standing in the "attractive wind direction", which would have positioned her sideways to the audience. She had a bit of trouble with a bad guitar cable at one point, which was obviously annoying to her. It's the kind of thing a performer hates to contend with during a live show...and really shouldn't have to. Again, she joked about it later, and it made for a few nice moments with the audience. She was in good voice, as was Kenny, and they really did a great job! She's a great songwriter, and even Dan said so later when he thanked them for opening for him.

There was a brief intermission, during which they were playing the "End Of The Innocence" cd by Don Henley. It was a surprise, but I think the local radio station was responsible for that. Then the Native American flute music began. Pretty soon, Dan was announced, and emerged wearing his usual outfit of jeans, a white shirt, and a linen colored jacket. He started with "Nexus", and even though you knew the audience had heard it many times before, they were very quiet, but appreciative.

I've seen so many reviews that mention Dan's being distracted in the beginning. For some reason, he has always seemed to have trouble getting the sound people to get the levels to the place he needs them, and you can watch him keep trying to communicate with them, often unsuccessfully. It has to be extremely frustrating for him, or any performer, to do the sound check, and then later begin playing, only to have things seem off. I'm not sure why it is that the sound folks can't understand what he wants, we can usually read his lips, or decipher his nods and grimaces, certainly they should know what he wants by now(unless he's forced to work with a different sound crew at each venue, then it would be really difficult for him). It seems like there should be some list of "signs" to make things easier for everyone. But, that's just my opinion.

Here's the set list, or as close as I can come to recalling what was played. I didn't write it down, so if anyone else out there can add anything, please do.

Nexus
Go Down Easy
Hard To Say
Forefathers
Don't Lose Heart
Paris Nocturne
Beggar's Game
Bones In The Sky
Road Beneath My Wheels
Buckaroo's Midnight Ramble
Lazy Susan
Leader Of The Band
Part Of The Plan
Run For The Roses
Same Old Lang Syne
Along The Road(encore)

This may not be the exact order, either. I read another review from Konocti Harbor, that said he looked "haggard". I wouldn't say that, exactly, but he did seem tired. As he sang, he seemed to be having some trouble with his voice. He was singing softer than usual on songs that typically aren't a problem for him. He could push it when he hit a certain range, but after a while, even that seemed to trouble him. To his credit, he never gave up trying. It sounded like he either had strained his voice, or was coming down with a cold. Either one could spell trouble for future dates(Emmylou Harris cancelled the concert the night before because of strep throat). I hope he takes care of those vocal cords of his--there's not another set like them anywhere else. He was drinking hot beverages that night, and joked about wishing there was a good shot of rum in them, to stave off the chill from the bay.

Not long after he had come on stage, he took off his jacket, and swapped it for a heavier, parka-style coat. He commented that this evening it was more about function, than fashion. While he was playing piano, he mentioned that he didn't remember the wind coming from the "aft" direction before. It was coming straight across the stage from the bay, and right up his back when he sat at the piano. His hands were cold, and playing anything on either instrument had to be terribly difficult. He perservered despite the cold and the vocal unevenness. He's a real trooper.

He dedicated two songs to artists who had passed away last week: "Road Beneath My Wheels" to John Lee Hooker--with a really nice touch of the Robert Johnson song, "Come On In My Kitchen" added as an intro and closing. It was sooooo nice. The other song "Buckaroo's Midnight Ramble" was dedicated to Chet Atkins, and appropriately so. Dan had some very sweet things to say about both of these men, and hopefully, the audience understood his reverence for them.

He played a beautiful version of "Paris Nocturne" that blew me away--cold hands didn't phase him on that one. In some cases, his vocal compensations that night actually made for some very nice improvisations. He sang things in ways that I had never heard him sing before, and it was a nice change in many ways. I still hope he gets whatever he needs to take care of his throat--rest, medicine, etc. There's nothing like hearing him with a healthy, rested voice... nothing .

He left the stage, and the audience stood and applauded until he returned for his encore. Everyone was quiet while he sang, and jumped to their feet again, when he was finished. He was visibly moved by the adoration of his fans, and said his final good-bye, and left the stage.

"Magic Every Moment" came from the speaker columns while people exited the venue. We hung around, since we were staying there and had nowhere else to go. Some of the fans stood and talked with the employees who were working security, and one woman got the set list from the stage. They were thrilled.

As we were walking out, we saw a small news crew doing a live remote from the venue. I recognized the reporter from when I lived in Southern California years ago, and we stayed and watched while he did his piece. The cameraman handed something to the couple next to us, and then handed the same thing to us. It was an "All Access" pass that he had been given to cover the concert. I asked him where he had been when we needed him, and we all had a good laugh. The sad thing is, after he shot the first song, he said he had gone to sit in his truck until the concert was finished. We really could have used those earlier! At least we(or I)got a cool memento!

While we were standing there, Karla Bonoff and Kenny Edwards walked by, and then stood talking to some people at the entrance. The woman who had been next to us went over to tell her how much she loved her music, and the next thing we knew, she was getting two cds autographed by Ms. Bonoff. She was thrilled ! She got the second one for her sister, who is also a big fan. It was a nice moment.

We went back to our room, and from there you could see the bus(which we later figured must be the crew's bus), and watched to see if anybody got in or out of it. Not much occurred. It gave us something to do, and since the semis were still being loaded while their engines ran, it was hard to go to sleep at that point. We watched them until they all pulled away, and then reflected on what a nice evening we'd had.

I hope Dan's voice was in better shape at his next stop. I hope it was only a temporary condition. He gave one hell of a try for us, and I know most of the audience appreciated it. I hope the rest of the tour goes well for him, with better sound techs, and warmer stages. Thanks, Dan, for another memorable evening.

Hi there,

I really enjoyed seeing Dan here in San Diego at Humphrey's, except that he didn't play my 2 favorite songs of his: Hearts Hotel and Loger-One of my favorite songs of all time. We had seats 8 rows back, dead center and boy it was nice. I must admit that I have only heard his greatest hits album from 1982 and my basis for going to the show was on this album alone. I came away so impressesd with him that I am going to go get the updated 36 greatest hits. His vocals are excellent and his piano playing was awesome. Of the songs that I didn't know that he played, Forefathers was my favorite. When (and if) he comes next year, I plan to get tickets about 4 rows up from where I was.

Thank you for your time and for writing back.