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IN THIS ISSUE:
2005 Mardi Gras Review & More! Meet Robert Vaughn, "Surprise" Engineer What Lurks Below - News from Oz The 4th Annual The Bootlog Fan Profile - An Ezralite Couple BTE is the Winning Bet at the Seminole Hard Rock Another Ezralite Halloween Meet Stattica / GCB Lights Up With Cigarette
News & Links TTOY Hall of Fame Cowbell Hall of Fame BTE Impressions
Volume 2
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BTE IS A WINNING BET AT THE SEMINOLE HARD ROCK CASINO
It was a chilly 65 degrees and sunny when Better Than Ezra arrived in Hollywood, Florida, today. They had come to rock the good folks of Miami at the Seminole Hard Rock Café and Casino. The venue is filled with numerous indoor clubs and watering holes, but BTE had the honor of being one of the first acts to bless the new Paradise Live, an outdoor stage nestled in-between all the bars. The opening band was a Latin/Jimi Hendrix mix, complete with congas, bassist, a rapid-fire drummer, and a leftie guitarist/singer. They warmed up the crowd for about an hour, as Ezra fans started filtering in. Several people in the crowd joked that that the guitarist was apparently going "commando" for the evening, but his playing was really quite good. Kevin, Tom, Travis, and Jim took the stage about 9:30pm, by which time there was a sizable crowd, said by some to be the largest crowd to date at that venue. The fans were pumped! Kevin launched into "King of New Orleans," only to discover his mic was off, but this technical malfunction was rapidly fixed and the boys didn’t miss a hitch. In fact, they were in top form and spent the rest of the night delighting the Ezralites in attendance who seemed to make up most of the crowd. Although, by the end of the evening, it seemed everyone in attendance was an Ezralite (Ich bin ein Ezralite!).
The crowd included all age ranges. A young woman named Starr, from Michigan, was in town with her family and convinced them all to attend the concert. She brought along her 12 year old brother, her parents, and even grandparents. They all seemed to have a great time. BTE even played two new songs off the upcoming Before The Robots (if you include "A Lifetime"). Especially memorable to the gentler gender was Kevin’s request for some "Sexy Lights" to accompany "Get You In." A spontaneous rendition of Tom Petty’s "Breakdown" caused a lot of laughs in the crowd and on the stage as well.
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At the conclusion of the set, Kevin requested a "crazy guy" from the audience and settled upon a big guy wearing camouflage pants, whom he quickly dubbed "Heavy D." After several false starts on the cowbell (I think either the pull-cord or the on-board computer on the cowbell was not working), Heavy D figured out how to JAM, and "In The Blood" took off while he rollicked around stage without falling down (amazing!).
After the extravaganza, Tom, Jim, Kevin, and Travis came out of their dressing room to talk with the fans and sign autographs. When Kevin, came out, my daughter Devin’s eyes flew open wide and she gasped, which Kevin then mimicked with mirth in his eyes. Jim revealed to us that he never had formal music training, but picked up his talents from his mother and grandmother. Tom said he was excited about the response to "A Lifetime" on itunes and encouraged everybody to get it from there. Travis was happy to sign autographs and was later seen hanging out at the Irish Pub for a spell. I’d like to say a special thanks to the guys for taking time to pose for photos with my kids, Devin and Joe.
Overall, this was another great show. Unless you have seen BTE live, you cannot truly appreciate how tight they play or the calm confidence that they exude after performing for so many years together. Kevin indicated that more South Florida dates would be entertained in the future, which made us all very happy! The setlist (to the best of my fuzzy recollection) Encore Many thanks for a great first review. We look forward to hearing all about your future Ezra exploits! |
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