From: owner-mad-mission-digest@smoe.org (mad-mission-digest) To: mad-mission-digest@smoe.org Subject: mad-mission-digest V6 #357 Reply-To: mad-mission@smoe.org Sender: owner-mad-mission-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-mad-mission-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk * If you ever wish to unsubscribe, send an email to * mad-mission-digest-request@smoe.org * with ONLY the word unsubscribe in the body of the email * . * For the latest information on Patty's tour dates, go to: * http://www.pattygriffin.net/PattyInConcert.html * OR * go to http://www.atorecords.com * . * PLEASE :) when you reply to this digest to send a post TO the list, * change the subject to reflect what your post is about. A subject * of Re: mad-mission-digest V6 #___ gives readers no clue * as to what your message is about. mad-mission-digest Monday, October 7 2002 Volume 06 : Number 357 Today's Subjects: ----------------- MM: ACL Fest ["Don Henn" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 6 Oct 2002 01:32:02 -0400 From: "Don Henn" Subject: MM: ACL Fest MMers , Better late than never. Spent 2 1/2 hours between leaving for the fest & strolling into Zilker Park. Good thing I left early. When I finally got to parking , & discovered that they closed at 10:30 , I drove back to the motel & called a cab.Good choice. Lines for the shuttle buses were staggering. Very hot , but thankfully , not humid. Met up with Jen C. & Amber. Amber couldn't join us at the front b/c of her new son Clay's stroller. Jen & I also met Dr. J , & Holly near the front. Set list : Chief Rain The Long Ride Making Pies Be Careful Flaming Red Truth # 2 Mad Mission Sweet Lorraine Mary Encore Mil Besos Patty's vocals were up to snuff , but Doug's guitar was missed , especially on FR. He was back home with his family , & new baby Rufus. Doug's replacement either wasn't prepared , or wasn't given a large role. He could barely be heard a lot of the time. Doug was also missed on the electronic xylophone/glockenspiel/whatever on MM. I have to say that , except for a few moments in "Chief" , the drum pedal was NOT missed. One positive about Doug's absence was that the Cello line was more prominent , but it was often too loud or too bass for my taste. The general cohesion & timing seemed to be affected also. "Mil Besos" seemed to be a different story. With the guitar downplayed , Michael executed an excellent piano arrangement instead of using the accordian , & the cello line was much better , using a volume & pitch that seemed perfectly tailored to Patty's voice. Can't say it was better than the standard version , but it was very good , & very different. In addition to the absence of Doug , my lack of foresight led to another problem. We staked out a place up front , stage-right. For one hour , the sun was setting between the roof & the floor of stage-left. That was the hour Patty was playing , & we were looking straight into the sun as we tried to watch , & Jen tried to take pictures. Jen & I were up front for Abra Moore later. Abra is a real find. I've seen her twice now & can't wait for the third time. Well into her first song , it seemed a little dispassionate , & I was hoping the next song would be more like what I remembered of her. Her passion flared about then , as Patty's often does , & it turned out to be one of the highlights of the set. Near the end of her set , her guitar player was coaxing a great sound out of his instrument , that I could best describe as rapid- fire wah-wah , when the power went out. Big disappointment. After 5 or 10 minutes she finished the set with 2 more songs. Headed back , & resigned myself to playing a little trivia at a nearby bar for an hour or so before I went to bed. Called my Austinite nephew to make plans for catching our hometown Steelers at a sports bar the next day , & he was headed to Maggie Mae's in town to catch a few of his friends that played in a cover band. Finagled an invite , thinking that hanging out with my nepew would be fun , even if it WAS a cover band. When I got there , I realized that I had heard a little of their music the night before , & liked it. After a little while , I might have used the phrase "great cover band" for the first time in my life. Most covers play easy melodic music , but these guys were playing "Rage Against the Machine" , "Beck" "Pearl Jam" , "Third Eye Blind" , & a lot of other intense music. And they did it as well as I could imagine. Great vocals & music. After getting permission from my nephew to make a fool of myself in front of him & his friends , me & my red shoes boogied till closing time. For any Austinites who might want to check them out ; www.buzzfuel.com. Next day , I had to pass up Shawn , Tift & Allison to watch our once-mighty Steelers squeak out their first win in an ugly game. Made it back in plenty of time to catch Emmylou. Up front again , as I camp out for my preferred acts as soon as the previous one finishes Her voice sounded even more sensual & natural than I recalled from the time Patty was opening for her. She was backed up by Buddy & Julie Miller , & had Patty join them for some harmony on one song. She didn't play many of my favorites , but like Patty, even when the song doesn't capture me , just listening to "The Voice" is enough. Emmylou betrays her musical & personal class when she surrounds herself with musicians & people like Patty & the Millers. She exempified it when she left the stage to allow Buddy & Julie to do one song on their own , saying it would be a sin not to. Buddy & Julie's excellent performance fit right in with Emmylou's. Like City Stages in Birmingham , between my favorite acts , I spent a lot of time at the Gospel stage , where they reflect that inspirational passion that also marks the secular acts that attract me. Funny how long these get & how much better my memory is when I don't have to do 10-15 at one time : ) I'm keeping my options open as best I can , but I don't think I'll make the coast tour. Looks like I may have to wait for next spring if I can survive that long. I'm expecting you left-coasters to chime in with reports on the concerts. Of all things that I've lost I think I miss my mind the most ~Ozzy~ Don ------------------------------ End of mad-mission-digest V6 #357 *********************************