Can you guess what I'm going to say?
It WAS Dan after all !!
It was FANTASTIC even though there were a couple of shortcomings that I'll get to.
The venue was very relaxed and small, no more than 1000 people TOPS!
All ages were represented from 9 to 90 and every face was smiling !
The song list was somewhat different (shorter) and to be honest, I was so involved in listening and watching (remember I'm a player so I had to watch his hands carefully!) that I didn't think to write it down, but I'll tell you some of what stands out in my mind.
There has been some talk about Dan's voice here, so here's my take.
His voice was as clear and pure as it's ever been, but, he did have to "work" a little for one or two high notes that I'm sure only the musicians noticed (we tend to be over-critical of even the best!)
Terri's favorite of the night was the rendition of "Souvenirs" that he did. He started it with a real jazzy jam that had me wondering at first just what song he was playing. You could tell they were having fun with it and MAN did it WORK !!!
The highlight for me was Dan's solo acoustic set. To me ,this is when Dan is at his absolute best!! If I had to pick one favorite for the evening it would have to be "Leader Of The Band" played solo acoustic. It brought a tear to my eye, but then, it ALWAYS does!
Seeing Dan sitting there pouring his heart and soul into that song reminded me of what made me become a "DANFAN" in the first place. It seemed that he was playing that one for himself. I don't think he opened his eyes through the whole song!!
Long story short...I wouldn't have missed it for the world!!!!! Even the drive was better than expected...two hours flat and drove right to the place !
Well....now the shortcomings...#1,the show barely lasted 90 minutes and there was only one encore (If I needed Someone) #2,the sound mixing was TERRIBLE! Nothing was balanced and I swear I heard the PA speakers clipping sometimes.#3,I was almost ashamed of the audience. Performers NEED the feedback from the people to motivate them and this group of people was DEAD!! Yeah, they clapped, but, no enthusiasm and not one standing ovation!!!!! I was up a couple times but I was by myself. This may have contributed to the shortened show
The short show was the worst part for me....I wanted it to go on ALL NIGHT !!!!!!!So many songs I wanted to hear.....I was happy and empty all at the same time.
None of that really matters though, after all...IT WAS DAN!!!!! If the tickets had been 100 dollars it would have STILL been worth it !!!
To all that are wondering...order your tickets now because no matter what...it WILL be worth whatever you have to spend and it might be your last chance to see Dan live
Oh yeah...one other thing to all the guys out on the forum....after the show is the hardest part for us...it's left up to us to figure out how to "re-form" all the melted women!!!!!!

Tim

Life Long #1 Dan Fan

Twenty-one years has past since the Innocent-Age tour which I attended in Tennessee. For me the anticipation was more than I could bare. The chance to see Dan for the first time in two decades. The place was the intimate setting of the 800 person capacity Turning Stone Casino, in upstate New York. Accompanied by my 15 year old son (who in my opinion is the only 15 year old who knows ever word on every one of Dan's albums!!), we set out on our two hour trek north to the small town of Verona, New York where Dan was set to go on stage at 8pm. We (of course) were the first one's to arrive in the "Showroom" where the concert was going to take place. Since I purchased tickets two and a half months prior to the concert, we had undoubtedly the BEST seats in the building right in the front next to the stage.

Nothing but smiles and applause greeted Dan and his band as he walked calmly on the stage, remaining with his back to the audience literally till the first note was played. He began with "Magic Every Moment". This song, as with many he played was taken from his list of "top-shelf" name-brand music that he was known for. The song was loud, his voice was awesome, and his playing was brilliant. Following that song, he greeting the fans by saying how happy he was to be back to upstate New York. Without a moments notice he darted to the piano and seemingly before he even sat down he began "Hearts Hotel". Again, the song was done with excellence! His voice during the entire concert was MUCH better than the 50-year-old voice that I was anticipating. He was able reach many of the higher notes (with a little help from his long-time band member and friend Robert McEntee, and bass player Mark Andes).

One very obvious negative feeling I and many others took away from this concert was two things: First, Dan appeared on many occasions

disenchanted with his sound people for allowing MANY untimely loud reverb squeaks. His facial expressions confirmed his displeasure and on two occasions motioned to them to come over and I assume to fix the reverb problem! In addition, prior to the song "The Reach", he yelled over to the sound people: "TURN THIS DOWN!", which meant that the beautiful "Guild" guitar he was playing was too loud for his liking.

Secondly, with his battery of songs to choose from, he really sold the

audience short and didn't play NEARLY enough of his vintage music. I

counted 7 albums than I didn't hear one song from! In addition, he

allow his bass player Mark Andes to play a tune from his old band

"FireFall" which was good, but not what the audience wanted to hear. He only played two guitar solos: "Leader of the Band", and "Make Love Stay", which in my opinion was the highlight of the concert. His voice during these two songs was slow, methodical, and rich! However, he (like most of the concert), had NO dialog with the audience as to the upcoming song/songs. I felt that he could have spent more time warming up to the audience. Probably the most noticeable thing that I saw was that he NEVER SMILED! He almost appeared "pissed" about something the entire time. He never let it affect his singing, but it was very evident.

Lastly, his encore which was greatly anticipated turned out to be a George Harrison tune, and I feel that everybody wanted to hear ONE OF HIS SONGS! "A Place In The World For A Gambler" was everybody's hope, but it didn't happen.

I hope to see him again, and all-in-all it was a an unforgettable evening.

Enjoy - Ever-On

Tom Yelverton in Upstate New York