Concert Report: Steve Morse and Dixie Dregs

[Roger -Dot- Lee(Admin)]

Greetings, denizens of this fair forum. I, your humble narrator (henceforth to be referred to as YHN in this piece) present to you the report on the Steve Morse and Dixie Dregs concert of March 25th, 2005.

He started things out with a nice medley that reminded one and all of his roots in the Deep South. A few covers of some well known bands from these beloved parts were played, proving that, even though he's getting up there in years, he hasn't lost a step, nor has he missed a beat.

After a few really good rockin' jams (for lack of a better word), he changed speed and started in on a couple of very nice balads that had heavy celtic overtones. A very nice change of pace from what was becoming a heavy metal-ish concert (and a relief for a lot of the older members of the crowd (myself included)).

He then launched into one of the better tunes of the night, threatening to run off with the show. He and his bass player did a back and forth sort of deal at a good 240 BPM that left the place a smoking ruin by the time the break arrived.

For those that are going to see an aging rocker making a lame attempt at regaining his past fame, you are in for a very serious disappointment. He lived up to his name and his legacy.

After the break, The Dregs appeared.

If this opening piece was a sign of things to come, there wouldn't be much left of the forum save a smoking crater. They, in typical Dregs fashion, played not as "Steve Morse and the Dregs" as I was initially thinking after the first set, but as "The Dixie Dregs". They handed the melody line back and forth amongst each other, in typical Dregs fashion, to the point where they confused the poor lighting dude to the point where he simply turned on all the white lights until the song was over. When one is playing a tune at about 160 BPM, and trading lead parts in mid measure (first the guitar, then the violin, then keys, then back to the violin, then to the bass, back to the guitar, to the drums, back to keys, back to drums, etc. for the bulk of the tune), one really can't blame him, and overall the effect was better, since you ended up having the person playing lit up instead of being two changes behind (like he was).

The Dregs, were in their groove this evening. They did a number of covers from the past (including one really tough one from another group that's currently on the station).

The entire show was like this, in typical Dregs fashion. I thought that the Steve Morse trio had left the place in a shambles. There was nothing left of the venue but a smoking crater and a whole bunch of happy customers. On the way out, waiting for the rush to diminish a bit, I had a chat with one of the security folk. He said that "considering the number of people, it's a real quiet night. This is good."

Indeed, it was good.

Now I KNOW you've all noticed that I didn't mention any playlists, nor did I mention any particulars. You want to know the details, go see the show.

Hell, go see the show even if you DON'T want to see the particulars.

Roger -Dot- Lee, wasn't paid a dime for this review, nor any finders fees associated with anyone who had the good sense to pick up tickets for this event.