Date: Dec. 4 2010 From:Wendy Lapides Subject: Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks, The Met, Pawtucket, RI To: hixlist The venue, a 19th century mill which was in fact, formerly owned by my stepfather, who used to produce massive amounts of jellybeans and lollypops there back in the day. The Met owners did a nice job converting the space with giant sized paintings of musicians hung on the brick walls, bars on both ends of the room, and rows of seating with a smattering of tables here and there. It was a large space with a cozy feel. The place was packed and I’m guessing there were about 300 people. Oddly, there was no one to introduce the band, so out Dan came, introducing himself and then thanking himself for the kind introduction. Dan was wearing a pair of cool baggy striped pants, a shirt with embroidery on the yolk, and a pair of sharp blue oxfords with white piping on the seams. Roberta and Daria were in black and the lickmen, Paul Smith, Dave Bell and Benito Cortez were stylin’ too. I didn’t write down the playlist but to the best of my memory, here’s what we heard : *Blues My Naughty Baby Gives to Me *Reelin’ Down (lovely, lovely) *I Scare Myself *Milk Shaken Mama *Evenin’ Breeze *Somebody Stole My Santa Claus Suit *The Buzzard was Their Friend *Sweet Promo song for the new album with Dan holding the CD like the lovely Carol Merrill on Lets Make a Deal *Payday Blues *Cherokee (instrumental) *Old Fashioned Christmas *Canned Music *Sweetheart (the girls solo and sounding lovely together) *How Can I Miss You *‘Long Come a Viper For some reason, I can’t remember what the encore was. Perhaps fellow Hixters Diane Kelly or Jeff Silva can fill in the void. Dan was in fine spirits all night long. I held my breath when someone gave a shoutout for O’Reilly at the Bar, but Dan responded amiably by playing a few notes for the uninformed audience member. It was a great evening, replete with singing’ and dancin’ and quite a little wit, too. What more could this Happy Hixter want for Christmas, Chanukkah, or any old time?