Meadowbrook Festival

       July 23, 2001

 Rochester, Michigan

I had the wonderful and rare opportunity to
attend one of Dan's concerts for the first time
since enjoying his music from the early 70's
onward. I came all the way from Toronto, Canada.
Meadow Brook Festival in Rochester, Michigan
was the closest venue he was performing at,
even though it was a six hour drive. It was an
extremely hot and humid evening, no breeze to
cool things off. It was the perfect evening for the
outdoor concert. Dan must have been melting away.
It was so humid he had to continually use baby
powder to keep his hands dry so he could play the
guitar. He played a fabulous mix of tunes both guitar
and piano. The other two friend that were with me
were amazed at his variety of talent. The songs were
a mix of country/bluegrass, folk, and classical. He
played tribute to both John Lee Hooker and Chet
Atkins. Very touching. He spoke of the meanings of
the songs such as Same Old Lang Syne, which added
a very personal touch. He thanked the audience for
choosing to see him that evening. James Taylor was
also playing at another theatre in the area. Dan played
continuously for an hour and a half with no break.
His voice seemed to be in fine form, until he was
encouraged back to do an encore. There was some
delay and when he returned he did one final song and
explained that he had a cold and had to be able to
keep his voice for a concert the following night. Bravo
for coming back for at least one song. Unfortunately,
the theatre was not full. We sat near the front and there
were some empty seats.  I hope that Dan tours next year
and maybe has plans to do a concert in Toronto, Canada.
There are many fans here who would love to hear him.

Best Wishes from Toronto, Canada

Norma G.

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Hi friend:
 
I was fortunate to have seen Dan in Rochester MI this past Monday.
It was a scorching hot evening but, as usual, Dan put on a beautiful show.
His voice was a tad raspy and he later shared that he was fighting a cold.
It was barely noticeable to most especially when he sang "Longer" with all
the falsetto of a pre-pubescent tenor. (I mean that in a good way.) He began
the concert with "Part of the Plan", "Beggar's Game", "Go Down Easy" and
then gave an awesome blues tribute to a recently deceased musician whose
name escapes me now.  (Hooker somebody????) It was a huge treat to hear
"Forefathers" for the first time live.
 
He did pieces from Innocent Age...Run for the Roses, The Leader of the Band
and Same Old Lang Syne with all of the perfection you'd expect. The man does
not age in sound or technique...very odd at that. He also shared that "Same Old 
Lang Syne" was a true story. It made all of us gals sigh in regret that we were
not the lost love "whose eyes were still as blue". (Or green in my case.)   
 
He gave one encore "Along the Road" as a prayer for all of us and for him.

The show was excellent, as always. He leaves us longing for more....

 
Thanks for reading this!
 
Cheers,
 
Angela in CT

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On Sunday, the day before leaving for Michigan, our baby sitter was sent to the emergency room. I discovered this only 3 hours before she was scheduled to arrive at our house. Planning to stay home and let Fred go, I found a sitter at the very last minute. She stayed for 2 days and 2 nights until the next sitter arrived to relieve her for the last night and day shift. Good friend, huh? Yea, I owe her big time.

Why did I tell you that? I don’t know. It’s all part of the mad rush that happens sometimes before you leave town on a trip. Maybe I’m telling you this because by now you all know I don’t ordinarily leave my kids at all. They’ve had to endure painfully boring events on good behavior just because I like having them with us. That, and I’m cheap. But to leave them with someone other than the carefully chosen baby sitter we’d planned on wasn’t easy. We were leaving them to see a Dan Fogelberg concert (or two) and two of the three had been sick. It wasn’t easy. Maybe I’m telling you to illustrate how much I wanted to see my favorite artist play his guitar and his piano and sing.

Anyway, landing in Detroit on Monday morning with my husband was hilarious. There were detours upon detours and signs declaring Detroit’s 300th year celebration. I kept wondering if it had ever been built at all! City planning does take a while, after all. Dan made references to the construction and we got the joke, loud and clear. But seriously, I think they were rebuilding nearly every road in the city.

It was so nice to be away with my husband – and that’s all you’re going to hear about that

The Meadow Brook Music Festival is outdoors and quite nice. We had great seats, 8th row, and as we waited for the music to begin I met a few fans that I’d known online for the past year. That was fun! It’s so nice to place names with faces, finally. There was a terrific woman who started by singing her original music for us – Liz Laren, but don’t quote me on the spelling. She was really, really good – delightful to watch, too - and I would have liked to hear more of her songs. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone have such a ball singing and playing for a crowd than she appeared to. I’d have bought her CD but I didn’t want to miss Dan’s entrance on stage.

It was really hot. Coming from North Carolina I expected the temperature to be more forgiving than what I’m used to, but Detroit was hospitable and made me feel right at sticky home instead. Parched as I was, Fred got some sugarless lemonade (oh yea, pucker up – straight lemons and water) in a huge sap bucket style plastic cup that had a big fat pink straw sticking out the top. I felt like an idiot fitting my mouth over the thing. It was something Emma would have loved. Meanwhile, I was sucking and puckering and quenching while Dan took the stage. He started with Part of the Plan, Fred’s favorite, and that was wonderful. I don’t know who I watched more that evening, Dan or Fred, because I loved the effect Dan’s performance had on Fred. There they were, my two favorite guys in the same place. Lucky me.

I didn’t write down the set list nor did I remember every little detail. Instead I just enjoyed each moment as it occurred. But the overall experience was great. It was hot and Dan was fighting a cold but he played and sang well in spite of all that. He played a lot of familiar songs on this tour: “Beggar’s Game” which lit up the piano keys, “Longer” – beautifully, so tenderly performed by Dan, “Leader Of The Band” - wonderful, “Forefathers”, “Same Old Lang Syne”, “Go Down Easy”, “Run For The Roses” and he burned the guitar strings with one of my favorites, “Road Beneath My Wheels”. They were all nice. They’re all favorites.

Then - he knocked the socks off Fred and I when he sat in his brown chair, tucked his head down and just played his guitar pieces for us. It was as though he was off in another world and we were peeking in. That little part of the concert alone was worth the baby sitting fees, hotels and travel incidentals of all three concerts combined. How can I explain it to you? He just played and played and he’s so gooood! I felt like I was watching a private moment where he was just jamming up there and doing his thing. It was right, it was so right and came across from the stage to the audience so well, so magical. Dan just didn’t stop, he had several pieces that he played and it was very inspirational for me to see that. Made me want to go home and work really hard and be good at something, too.

The evening cooled down, perfect for a little outdoor mingling after the show with other fans. We found Artemis, sat at one of the tables and downloaded about the show until the venue closed. Fred’s comments were, emphatically, that Dan’s voice hits the high notes better than the middle ranges. And that he’s amazed at Dan’s talent and finesse. The guitar instrumentals were a highlight with both of us though. This was especially a treat. But the best comment of all was when he stood up after Dan left the stage and said, simply, “I’ve got to play my guitar more.”

Dan, that night, inspired at least two people to try harder and to be better. From the stage when he took away worry, fatigue, and stress, he gave. And we got it. Thanks, Dan.

Kim

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