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IN THIS ISSUE:
Fest-Heaven or Festi-Hell? / Birmingham BTE's "Imperfect" / Graham Colton Band Ezra Radio / USAToday Pic Just the Fakts Ma'am The Bootlog The Reviews BTE Caption News & Links TTOY Hall of Fame BTE Impressions
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A LITTLE BIT OF FIRE AND Although there was a rain and lightening storm late Thursday night, clear blue skies appeared for this outdoor show and there was just a hint of a breeze to cool the anxious crowd. Dallas had been quite muggy in the previous days, but the weather gods seemed to smile on BTE’s first show at this fairly new venue (essentially the backyard of a restaurant/bar). The stage sat upon the banks of a man-made lagoon which created a sense of tranquility, despite the neon signs of Joe’s Crab Shack and Chili’s looming in the background. Dallas natives, Radiant opened the show and they seemed to have a fair number of local fans. Their sound was reminiscent of Radiohead, Coldplay and Ours, with a bit of The Strokes thrown in for good measure. Lead singer/guitarist/pianist Levi Smith admitted to having some throat problems and apologized for any vocal deficiencies. Nevertheless, their set was enjoyable and all the band members were extremely friendly at the merch table.
It was obvious who most of the crowd was there to see though. The pre-show music served to amp them up. Queen’s "Fat-Bottomed Girls" guitar riffs segued almost seamlessly into the opening song, "Recognize" which was quickly followed by "Misunderstood." Kevin was having some fun with the name of this new venue, pointing out "the element of fire and the element of water, when the two come together, it’s beautiful," complete with hand gestures. Perhaps he was feeling extra goofy due to the fact that they had just flown to Dallas a few hours before the show. To prove this fact to the audience, he even tossed out his boarding pass to an unsuspecting fan. I wonder if he gets an aisle or window seat?
"Good" and "Rolling" came quickly with just a brief pause for KG to express how thankful he was that Travis had overcome his "weekly case of poison ivy" in order o play for us. Kevin then told the crowd he had run into some rather drunk people (at 3:00 in the afternoon!) in their hotel elevator who inquired if he was in town to see the Alan Jackson, George Strait and Jimmy Buffet show the following night. Kevin had assured them that he was not, but it was clear from his sly grin that any references to Jimmy Buffet were far from over. Tear-jerker "Live Again" followed, complete with a snippet of spontaneous lyrics centered around "David Carradine" (aka. Uncle Mike) to the tune of Neil Young’s "Heart of Gold." A mention of the forthcoming DVD preceded the next song, "Get You In." "Extra Ordinary" soon followed with the slow "Ms. Jackson" ending. Tom took the opportunity of this quiet moment to say that he felt that there was something special about the night. He said that Dallas people like to party and drink. As he glanced bact at the crowd, a roar proved this to be quite true. A fair number of concertgoers had even congregated on the roof of the bar to enjoy the show from a higher vantage point. KG then kicked the show back up with "King of New Orleans." While he omitted the usual "Break Down" with Beck’s "Debra," he gave the crowd a sing-along opportunity with "Just A Friend" by Biz Markie and a new addition – "Tipsy" by J Kwon – much to the crowd’s delight. Old school Ezra favorite "Rosealia" soon followed and as Mr. Payne enthusiastically ran out to Tom’s mic, he slid so hard that the carpet slid with him! As Jim is quite graceful, he managed to recover quickly and didn’t let on that he almost fell. |
Once Jim was safely ensconced behind the keyboards, Kevin requested that he "play us a Jimmy Buffet song, NOT ‘Juicyfruit!’" Jim politely obliged, playing a bit of "A Pirate Looks At Forty." KG wanted more though, and proceeded to play "Brown Eyed Girl" even though Jim protested that it wasn’t a Jimmy Buffet song. KG countered that it sounded a lot like a JB song (a quick online search tells me that KG is half right. Jimmy has indeed covered this Van Morrison classic song). The first major deviation from the setlist came here, as KG opted to skip "At The Stars" and moved on to "A Lifetime" to get things back on track. This may have allowed a bit more time for the audience participation classic, "This Time Of Year" with guest guitarist Elliot. KG was in rare form as he instructed young Elliot. Among other things, KG pronounced that Elliotneeded to "FOCUS!" and to "get in the pocket" and to follow Travis, as has the "funk in his ass." Other quotable lines included "I will guide you from the precipice to base camp" and "I am your team leader." Elliot proved to be a burgeoning rock star and put plenty of style into his performance and jumped off the drum riser "in a graceful arc" not once, but twice!
After this hilarity, a frenzied version "Desperately Wanting" with Nelly’s "Ride Wit Me" closed out the main set. The crowd took a few minutes to cool down and finally coaxed the boys back onstage. Kevin retook the stage with a humble confession that whenever they were in town, the boys enjoyed frequenting the numerous strip clubs that litter Dallas (all of Texas, really, the state seems to be a haven for adult male entertainment!), but that he was not proud of it. He then launched into the Ramones classic "I Wanna Be Sedated" which segued into the fan favorite "Sincerely Me," complete with the staccato drum huddle opening. All too soon, the traditional closer "In The Blood" was over and the masses were fighting for setlists. Despite a somewhat standard setlist, the show rocked as per usual. Seeing BTE in a new state, KG’s stage antics, Tom and Travis’ knowing smiles, made for a great trip to Dallas.
Jodi, thanks for helping out so much with the Serenade. We can always count on you! Check out the venues pics of the show here.
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