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COMBINED
REPORTS - Avalon Theatre, Easton MD, May 25 2001
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| From:
Chris Kane To: shorty@danhicks.net Subject: Dan in Easton, MD Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 10:27:44 -0400 Hi
Shorty. Here's the report for Dan in Easton, MD. at the Avalon Theatre.
After seeing Dan at Camden County College in March, my wife and some
friends of ours all headed down to Easton to see him again. The Avalon
Theatre was just amazing. We got into town early (11:00 AM on Friday)
and had planned to make a day of it. We were staying right across the
street from the theatre. We walked over to check out the Avalon and
were invited in by a real nice guy (sorry can't remember his name) who
was on hand. He gave us a guided tour through the theatre and even recommended
that we sit in the balcony for the best sound. Being a musician myself
I was very impressed with the sound system and this nice guy even explained
the sound and lighting systems. It was great. So we then headed over
to St. Michael's for tons of crabs and several pitchers of beer (and
a couple of fat ones) in preparation for the show. Took a little nap
(hay we're getting' old) and went over to the show at about 6:30. Stopped
off at the bar next to the theatre (we ain't that old) and had a few
drinks. I stuck my head around the corner to see if there was a crowd
forming at the door and here comes Dan walking out the door of the theatre
with one of the Lickettes (sorry, don't know her name) There was a pretty
good crowd waiting there but nobody seemed to notice Dan (he was disguised
a little, had on a beret and shades)...I said hi, he said hi. I told
him I was really lookin' forward to the show and he just nodded and
kept on moving. So we finally get in there (balcony seats we great)
and Dan and company come out to a pretty full house. I think the nice
manager told us there was about 250-300 tickets sold...the place went
nuts. I don't have a set list but for the most part it seemed like they
played a pretty standard set. The acoustics were very good and the house
system (Bose) was perfect. The response from the audience throughout
was very good and Dan even mentioned at one point that " we're enjoying
this as much as you guys are"....it was an excellent night. I would
recommend the Avalon Theatre to any music lover. Thanks to Dan and everyone
involved, it was a pleasure. From:
Baltimore Dave What a place! An historic 1920's era movie theater! Recently renovated into an intimate performance venue... The Avalon Theater surpassed even my wildest imagination! A Marylander all of my life, I didn't think the "homey" atmosphere of the Eastern Shore would be all that much.... I was pleasantly surprised! If any of you have the opportunity to visit... This is a great place to hear DH&THL... Or any other group. Driving down from Baltimore on a Memorial Day weekend can be, ah, lets just say exasperating. Fortunately for us, the weather conspired to keep the Ocean City traffic to manageable volumes. Eileen and I arrived early to make sure we'd be pretty close to first in line as this concert was sold as "General Admission" At the door, we realized that the tickets had been left in the car... Eileen volunteered to fetch them. When she came back... She was walking up the street with Dan and the troupe... She shouted to me, "Hey David! Look who I found!" Before the show started, we had the opportunity to chat with Tom Mitchell for a bit. What a nice guy! He remembered us from signing the promo poster the last time we saw him. At any rate, the doors opened and we found our seats... We were among a few people who, like myself had discovered Dan thirty or so years ago and fell head over heels for the man and his music. These folks however, were experiencing Dan "Live" for the very first time. The band, consisting of Dan, Tom, Brian, John Clark? Susan Rabin, and Molly? (It seems as if Dan is still fine tuning "The Lickettes"), began and sounded as great as they always do... Even better, with the acoustics of the Avalon being near perfect. "Canned Music" earned much applause. I noticed that the crowd seemed a bit more rowdy than I am used to at "The Ramshead". Someone from the rear shouted "Louder!" while Dan was trying to get the sound crew to tweak the volume a bit... Then, as he began to announce the next tune, someone else shouted "Surfdog!" very loudly! I could see that Dan was not pleased. I hoped that he wouldn't let these yahoos affect the performance... Sadly, the acerbic side of Dan came out for the rest of the first set. He told the audience that if they chose to shout when he's talking, that he just wouldn't say anything else... The rest of the set was played with no intros of any kind... One could feel the ice from the stage... The songs were not affected however, and were met with great applause... And... no more shouting from the yahoo. After the break, Dan came back onstage and seemed a little cooler... Remarking how much he liked the room... How good it sounded... And, the Dan wit was back! Introducing each song with a little of the famous Dan Hicks Humor! The couple next to us whispered to me, "Whew! He saved it for me!" I can't imagine what they must have thought after the first set. A few songs later the crowd, believing everything was now okay, began shouting requests.... Dan suggested that though he is feeling better, they shouldn't be thinking that they do requests. The rest of the set went very smoothly... With much applause, and a standing ovation! Dan was back! I have found Dan, and all of the guys to be more than pleasant every time I've seen them... Talked with them after the shows... What would possess someone to shout out some inanity while the show is going on? It's funny, somehow I know that the "Shouting Yahoos" were indeed fans... Though I also know that they couldn't possibly have been "Hixters" After all... We know better! Set
One: Set
Two: Encore: Baltimore Dave & Eileen From:
Jan Holland Chris,, I think the guy in the beret (black) was John Clark.... Dan's bass player on some east coast.gigs He favors Dan and is a nice guy, and he always wears that beret. I
agree. The concert was terrific. MUCHO BETTER than in March at Ramshead
in Annapolis. Band was **smokin'**. Guitar and violin were HOT. The
bassist got his due---rightfully so---solo licks on a few numbers. He's
much more comfortable now. "The Man" was pissed at the audience, first
song out---didn't banter much ---but 2nd act when the music heated up
was terrific. This was one good show for them. Susan was one of the
Lickettes this time--and ...she does make a difference--percussively.
J
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