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11/06/05 - LA GRAVE FIELD,
FORT WORTH, TX Review
by Bryan King:
Just got back from an overnight up in Dallas/Fort Worth for
the show. What a fun time and good double-bill that is. Here's are some highlights.... Crowd
was there to see DL over BA by a 2:1 ratio I'd guess. Many DL fans left the front
of the stage area after the DL set which allowed those of us who were about 15-20
people back for DL to get within 5-10 ppl back for BA.
Opening act came
on at 6:30 in the hot sun. It was over 90C to start (34F) and the sun staring
right at the stage. DL took the stage at 7:10 and rocked the crowd for their 90
min. Saw BA at side stage checking them out singing "Animal". Pretty
sure that DL played same set as all other shows on the tour. DL is a great vocal
group and as a fan of theirs, I thought they were very solid. Only a 20-25 min.
break once DL left the stage and BA came on. Quick road crew.
BA came
on to RS at 9pm. It's been 3 years since my last BA show and my first time seeing
him in Texas. Although I rarely hear his music on the radio anymore, the crowd
was very vocal and energetic to the songs. Big sing-a-longs and huge receptions
for the hits.
Some highlights that stood out:
-Playing Somebody
2nd and Run to You 5th. As a big-time BA junkie, it was neat to hear songs in
a different order in the show. I've never seen Run to You played so early in a
set.
-Crowd was familiar w/ the 18 Til I Die refrain and sang along nice
a loud. I figured nobody knew those songs in the US since the CD didn't sell much
here.
-He introduced Kids by saying he wanted to play some songs from
the Reckless album "which rhymes with Texas". He then started into the
guitar riff on the wrong guitar so he had no sound. Lance brought him a new guitar,
but he had lost the introdcution momentum of saying the word "Texas"...so
he said it again.
-Loved the guitar duel during Kids. That was the best
"live"song of the set in my opinion.
- '69 was performed w/
BA on acoustic, but he played the intro as he would have on the electric. Crowd
got to sing first verse as usual. He played the unplugged acoustic version once
he hit the 3rd verse.
-Starting the 2nd verse of This Time, it was the
only time he left the guitar behind and sang w/ the mic to work the crowd.
-For Cuts, BA started singing the "na na na's" by accident after
the first chorus. That led to the band members looking at each other trying to
figure out where to go....BA shrugged and they continued to follow BA's lead despite
the error. So, Somebody, Can't Stop, There Will Never Be... AND Cuts all featured
missing 2nd verses on this night.
For WYG, he picked a big boobed (what
a surprise...), blonde Texas girl named Heather. She had no idea about the song
so they didn't get past the first verse. The boos from the crowd overtook the
band. He then picked an older woman wearing a black Into the Fire T-Shirt who
knew the song pretty well. He never offered either of them lyric sheets. The woman,
Barbara, who did sing did a good job, except she did the vocal ad libs that occurs
on the 3rd verse throughout each chorus. BA was trying to get her to sing normally
as he was. The blonde girl Heather got to stay on stage w/ a Tambourine and dance.
When he asked Heather who she was at the show with, she said her boyfriend Nate,
but she said it with a real southern drawl. BA then imitated her southern drawl
which drew some "you better watch it" groans from the audience. He then
looks at Nate and said, "Nate, if you don't get lucky tonight, you ain't
ever getting lucky". 
-It's Only Love featured the usual stellar work by Keith. As BA said when
he introduced Keith "you know him, you love him, you want to take him home
with you..." Keith had rows of arm/hand sweat flowing down his guitar. It
was just 86C when the show ended at 10:30pm. Likely one of the hotter gigs the
band had played.
-More huge sing-a-longs for The Only Thing. Once again,
I was really pleased by the response that the post-Waking material received.
-It looked for a moment after There Will Never Be... that the band would stay
on for more, but BA gave them the send off.
-While Straight From the Heart
is a great way to close the show, Fort Worth got a couple bonus songs. Not sure
if it was because it was the last night of the June tour or because I really think
the crowd earned it. Either way, we got an acoustic Room Service then All For
Love (with BA wearing a cowboy hat which he gave to me after the song, which I
prompty returned to the rightful owner)
-A total of 90 minutes on stage
and 19 songs. Probably the longest song count of the BA/DL dates so far I haven't
seen any other US show since early '02 so I'm not sure if this was an above average
or below average US audience, but in my opinion, it was much better than I had
anticipated being apart of. BA acknowledged that it had been a long time (6 years
since he last played in the Dallas area) and said it was the best reception he
had received here.
For the future double-header
shows, I would try to catch the ones when BA closes. It's more of a concert feel
once the sun goes down and the lights on stage play a larger part of the show.
Plus, unless you want the front few rows of standing room, let the DL fans file
out after their set and move up for BA. If BA is opening, you might have to jockey
for position amoung the DL fans to get close to the stage.
The generic
concert review in the Dallas/Fort Worth paper on Sunday morning made comparisons
to the vocals of Joe Elliot and BA saying Elliot has lost some of his high-end
while BA still sounds great. I'd have to agree.
Setlist:
Room Service
Somebody
18 Til I Die
Can't Stop This Thing
We Started
Run To You
Kids Wanna Rock
Summer Of '69
Everything I Do
This
Time
Cuts Like A Knife
When You're Gone
This Side Of Paradise
Heaven
It's
Only Love
The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You
There Will Never Be
Another Tonight
Straight From the Heart
Room Service (Acoustic)
All For
Love
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