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| From:
Kathy & Ken To: hix@yahoogroups.com Subject: DH at Feather Falls Casino, 3/24/01 Dan
& the Hot Licks It was great to be able to combine a springtime trip to the Sierra foothills with the chance to see a DH&THL show. Oroville was bucolic, and rich in Gold Rush era legend. We enjoyed the historical sites, Oroville Lake and Dam, and being out in the country - where huge jackrabbits abound. The night before the show, we were relaxing in our room at the riverside B&B we had booked, and were watching local area TV. A commercial for the Feather Falls Casino came on, and sure enough it mentioned Dan. In fact, it showed the cover of "Beatin' The Heat" hypnotically rotating clockwise as the announcer touted the show. It was the first time we'd ever seen an actual TV spot for Dan. The very busy Concow-Maidu tribe Feather Falls Casino, which is just south of Oroville, presents an eclectic mix of acts in their showroom. Upcoming bookings include The Lettermen, Championship Boxing Live On Fox Sports, Tony Orlando, and the "Honky Tonk Tailgate Tour", which appears to be a country music beefcake caravan for the ladies. When we got to the casino (through pouring rain), we scoped out the showroom and caught some of Those Darn Accordions' sound check. The large room is a cross between a gymnasium and a bingo hall, with a raised stage on one side. The carpeting was done in a brightly-colored southwestern pattern, and seating was row after row of padded restaurant-type chairs. The sound system wasn't the greatest, so we figured that getting seats near the front would be the thing to do so we could hear some acoustic ambiance. We had some time to kill, so we played the slots for about an hour. Ken got one pretty good pull, and Kathy managed to stay alive. We cashed in, not too much behind for the evening, and got in line to enter the showroom. Once we got our seats, Kathy went to the Snack Bar (stage right) to get hot dogs for dinner, and had the pleasure of running into Bay Area Hixter Ralph M., who was also waiting for chow. Those Darn Accordions opened for Dan. Paul Rogers, leader of TDA, is in the Christmas Jug Band -- when Austin DeLone and Paul play accordions together with the CJB, things really rock! TDA played some of their originals, and also did some kick-ass cover tunes, like "Frankenstein" and "Magic Carpet Ride". They have a hilarious original tune about "Mr. Hamster", too. They were just about the best opening act for Dan that we've seen. DH&THL
lineup for the evening was: The band dress theme was Cowboy style, since we were, as Dan put it, "In Indian country". Dan, however, wore his black & white checked shirt and black vest. He also donned his Fuzzy Black Homberg off and on during the show. He had many good quips during the evening, but the one that sticks in our minds is "Dig the void". The set list was, in no particular order: Canned
Music Given the venue, we were sort of hoping to hear "$100,000", but "I Got Mine" was the gambling song of the night. Special treats for us were hearing "I Feel Like Singing", which we'd never heard live before; "Shootin' Straight", which is such a great song; and a very tasty harmonica break by Dan on one of the tunes. In all the time we've been going to Dan-shows, we'd never heard him play the harp, so that was a special treat indeed. He's damn good. Dan and the Lickettes also did some snappy dance routines, and during a solo by the bass player, they literally "got down"…as in supine on the floor. They got back up, too. That was really cool. The crowd was an odd mix of Hicks fans, TDA fans, and the merely curious who had wandered in from the slot machines. One slightly chunky middle-aged lady, wearing tight jeans and tank top, spent most of Dan's set dancing and cavorting suggestively at the foot of the stage. There were the usual shouted requests from the crowd, but Dan said, "Look…we're 37 years old now, and we're going to play what we want to play when we want to play it". This was met with much applause. Dan mentioned the upcoming live album during the show, and threw in a few "Beat Beat Beatin' The Heat" Lickette turns. There were "Beatin' The Heat" CDs for sale at the back of the hall. We passed by the CD sale table as we left the show, and it sported a promotional stand-up poster, which was obviously handmade by Dan. It featured artfully arranged vinyl lettering and a blowup of the "Beatin' The Heat" cover onto which Dan had drawn big googly eyes. Very sharp! Kathy
& Ken
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