Date sent: Aug. 13 2003 From: Rich Donnelly Subject: Dimitriou's Jazz Alley, Seattle WA, Aug. 10 2003 Dan played an unprecedented 3 nights at Jazz Alley in Seattle. This is a place that usually hosts what I would call "mainstream jazz acts" -- for example, McCoy Tyner and Oscar Peterson are on the schedule, though from time to time they diverge. One tradition there is that for many years, Taj Mahal has played there during the week of Thanksgiving -- apparently he has family in the area. This year his trio will play 8 nights. (jazzalley.com) Dan played Friday through Sunday, 2 sets each night. I went on Sunday to the early (6:30) show, hoping that perhaps I'd be able to stick around for the second one, which turned out to be the case. The crowd seemed quiet, which I attributed to a combination of not knowing what to expect and not wanting to piss Dan off. He seemed a little weirder than usual at first. Maybe the jet lag hadn't fully worn off. His between song patter seemed sort of aimless, rather than the razor-sharp timing we're used to. Not that there weren't plenty of laughs. The music didn't suffer, however, as they packed plenty of great tunes into the opening set, including Long Comma Viper, Strike it While it's Hot, Cowboy's Dream, The Piano Has Been Drinking, and the great jam on I Scare Myself. By about halfway through the set the crowd's applause was getting longer and louder, and Dan seemed to be enjoying himself more. Still, you could hear a pin drop after the clapping, before the next song. Unfortunately I was on the opposite side from the Lickettes but they were in fine form with the never ending array of percussion. Amazing how they seem to enjoy every minute up there. They were decked out in platinum blonde wigs (Dan mentioned there was "not a trace of pigment in their hair"). Facing a 90-minute drive home and work the next morning, I figured I'd duck out sometime during the second set, but each song held me there. However, it seemed not to last as long as the first and I did head out during the encore of Chatanooga Shoeshine Boy. No sign of the DVDs for sale at this gig. I'd be interested to hear any comments from the previous two nights in Seattle. This is a great venue and the help I talked to seemed to indicate that it had been a successful run; even though Sunday night wasn't full, it was a respectable crowd. Rich Donnelly