Just returned from the concert at Deer Valley, Utah. Do I even
need to say that it was GREAT? Dan explained the fact that he was
playing solo acoustic by saying he'd left the band at the airport
playing canasta because their contracts prohibited them from
playing above 7000 feet. The venue for the concert was a small,
intimate stage on the "bunny" ski slope at the Deer
Valley ski resort. It was really nice except that it rained for
about two hours before and intermittently throughout the concert,
so the crowd sat on pretty soggy ground.
Dan was in fine form. He wasn't as chatty at this concert as it
seems he's been at others, probably because he knew he'd have to
move things along to get everything in before the sound ordinance
deadline of 10:00 p.m. He seems to have recovered fully from the
cold he had earlier in the tour. (Although after spending an
evening in the late summer cold and rain of this mountain
setting, he may see his cold reappear.) He had to keep retuning
his guitars and warming his hands between songs, though, because
of the temps.
He said that playing a Christmas song in July didn't feel as
weird at this concert as it had in California because it almost
felt like winter. And, he said that sitting in the mountains
looking at the bare ski slopes right in front of him made him
"horny to ski."
I was close enough to the stage to be able to watch his
incredible guitar work. He is absolutely amazing! My friends and
I all enjoyed the instrumental pieces just as much as our old
favorite vocals. Todos Santos, Eleanor Rigby and Full Moon
Mansion were all great. He just rips when he plays Nexus, Part of
the Plan and Road Beneath my Wheels.
I, like some of the other reviewers I've read, wished he would
change the play list a little. Of course, he has to play his most
well-known hits (Run for the Roses, Leader of the Band, etc.),
but it would be great to hear something besides Make Love Stay,
Part of the Plan and Auld Lang Syne. It was GREAT to hear him
play Captured Angel, Forefathers (my personal favorite), and The
Reach.
This was my fifth time seeing Dan in concert and, surprisingly
enough, the first time I'd heard him play Longer. I was
enthralled at his performance. Do you think we could convince him
to record more current versions of his most popular songs? The
recordings are great, but his voice and interpretations of them
now is so different (and so awesome), I really wish he'd do an
"update" or at least another live concert album.
Excellent evening. Another great performance. I just wish he
would tour more often; he only makes it to Utah about every two
years. Maybe we could set up a two- or three-day "Dan
Fest" where he could have a solo acoustic concert one day
and another with the band and do just about everything from
Netherlands, Captured Angel, Wild Places, etc. I know, just a
dream, but it would be AWESOME!
Marianne Paul
Hi Friends,
I am so glad to finally get to write out my feelings after the
concert Friday night. Saturday was full of family things, and I
just did not have the time. I feel like I am going to burst if I
can't talk about this with someone!! You all know how I feel, I'm
sure. The day went as follows- My friend Judi and I left our
houses at 8:00 in the morning, and drove for about an hour, up
the canyon to Deer Valley. It is a ski resort, and a newly
chartered city adjacent to Park City, Utah. It is a beautiful
resort, built and paid for by the Olympic skier, Stein Eriksen.
The weather was typical for July in Utah, looking like a good
day, highs expected in the mid 80's. A few clouds in the sky, but
nothing threatening. When we arrived, there weren't any others
there to see DF, just a few employees. I was determined to be on
the front row, but by the look of things, we had some time.
We went shopping for a while and picked up some food from the
grocery store (I know I am getting awfully detailed here, but I
for one enjoy the detail from all of you folks, so I'll dish it
out that way.) At noon we headed back up to Deer Valley, where
there were 3 people in line. I think that was the most exciting
part of the day besides the moment when DF came out onto stage. I
knew that I would be able to be on the front row! I got so
excited that I couldn't eat all day, and all of that food that I
had just bought went to waste. Judi, who has never seen DF in
concert, and who is a recent convert :), was able to eat, because
she didn't know what she was in for! LOL! It began to rain a
little, so we got out our chairs and took our positions there
under the eaves of the lodge. It only rained for a minute or two,
and then stopped. The sun came out, and it stayed very nice out
until later. I called another friend who was thinking of coming
the day before but had decided against it, and told her that I
was going to be on the front row. She decided to come up. The few
others that were there were just mediocre fans(who knows why they
wanted to wait all day- one of them ended up going home just
before the concert started!!! Whatever!).
We were not joined by any others until 4:00. Holy Cow! Is the
whole state of Utah that unaware? This was REALLY hard for me to
believe. At 4:00 only a few more people came. THEN.......it
started to rain. It poured for about 2 hours! We, like I said,
were under the eaves, so we were fine, but some of the latecomers
were not so fortunate. They FINALLY opened the gates at 6:30, and
let us in. I ran as fast as I could in my platform sandals,
carrying all of my crap (funny sight, no doubt, but WHO CARES?!)
I was able to stake myself out a place on the front row, over to
one side. How cool! It is an outdoor venue, with the stage set up
at the bottom of a ski run. The stage is covered. The grass was
very wet because of the rain. There are no seats, it's just, (as
we say here) "pull up a piece of grass and sit down",
which is usually fine in late July, but not so this time! They
allowed chairs that were 4" off the ground, and luckily we
had some. One nice man in line with us, offered to go buy some
umbrellas for us, and we took him up on it. It continued to
drizzle and rain off and on. It was quite cold, and still
overcast. I was cold, and felt bad for the performers. I play the
piano, and I remember my Mom telling me to get going on my
practicing the minute I walked in the door from school. If my
hands were cold, they just didn't work. The opening act was Eliza
Gilkyson. I don't want to be mean, and I probably should just
leave this out, but I really did not like her stuff. She has a
good voice, and plays the guitar well, but I didn't enjoy the
lyrics to her songs at all. Most of the stuff sounded really
primitive and animalistic to me. Not real elevated stuff. Enough
about that. Not long after that, out came DF. I will do the
ceremonial outfit description that seems to be required in these
reviews. Black jacket, white shirt, jeans, and leather sandals.
There you go, ladies! He really did look good, and he seemed
happy, and ready to give it his best shot, despite the rain. I
don't think he said quite as much as he did in other concerts, as
far as I can tell, but it was really cold. I would guess
somewhere in the 50's. The cold came in handy when he did the
Christmas song, "The First Christmas Morn". By the time
he had brought out the tree and the stocking, I was convinced
that it was December. The song is absolutely beautiful, touching,
and inspired. I am so looking forward to getting the album. I
will try to give you the setlist. I did not write this stuff
down, so I will have to just list them for you, in no particular
order.
Nexus
Captured Angel
The Reach (my all-time favorite for the whole history of the
world-
forever, Amen)
Forefathers
To The Morning
Leader of the Band
Make Love Stay
Longer
Morning Sky (awesome!)
Eleanor Rigby
Full Moon Mansion
Todos Santos
Run For The Roses
Road Beneath My Wheels
Don't Lose Heart
The First Christmas Morn
Part of the Plan (the most rockin' rendition I have EVER heard of
this,
totally awesome!! And to think he did it with cold fingers!)
Encore: Same Auld Lang Syne
He gave a great performance. He proved once more that he is a
master of what he does. Most of all, I was impressed with his
attitude. He tried to keep a positive attitude in the cold. He
did not seem annoyed, although he probably was. He seemed to
really try to give us his best. He made one or two comments about
cold fingers, but not to complain, just to let us know that if he
goofed, that might be the reason. He didn't mess up, as far as I
could tell.
I hope I did not leave anything out. The concert was very
enjoyable, and the two victims that I dragged along, are now
e-mailing me asking which albums they should buy first. Maybe I
will finally have someone to talk with about this extraordinary
music. I hope it has been enjoyable to read this. I know I am a
little long-winded. I want to say to Dan that I am grateful for
all that he has given me as a listener. I realize that he has
sacrificed alot to give us what he has. In many ways his life
would have been more enjoyable if he had chosen to keep the music
to himself. Thanks for everything, Dan. May God bless you for the
uplifting effect your music has had on so many.
Peace.
Dan's concert in Deer Valley, Utah, took place on July 30th.
We were all holding our breath as to whether the concert would
take place or not. It had been raining quite hard during the day.
Finally about an hour before the concert, the rain subsided a
bit, so on with the show!
I wish you could all attend one of his concerts in this setting.
Deer Valley Amphitheater is at the base of a ski run, and is
surrounded by beautiful mountains, trees, and clean air. It is
the perfect setting for his music.
The concert began around 7:20 p.m. with Eliza Gilkyson as the
first act. She did a good job and the weather cooperated during
her performance. She finished around 7:50 p.m. Dan came out at
8:15 p.m. He was wearing a blue jacket, white, button down collar
shirt, levis and sandals. He thanked everyone for being there and
said how wonderful it was to be back in the Rocky Mountains. He
said that he left his band at the airport drinking coffee and
playing Canasta. He talked a little about the beautiful
surroundings and said "Sitting here with the ski runs and
lifts makes me very horny to ski". Okkkkay, anyway the show
opened with the song Nexus. Then it started to get cold and rainy
again. It sprinkled on and off through the whole show and Dan
kept commenting on how cold it was and how it was only July. He
must have been cold because he kept rubbing his hands together
and blowing on them to warm up.
The rest of the set went like this: Captured Angel, Forefathers,
To The Morning, Don't Lose Heart, Make Love Stay, Road Beneath My
Wheels, The Reach, Todos Santos, Eleanor Rigby (instrumental
which he said he called the little old lady from Ipanema?), Full
Moon Mansion, Christmas song called The First Christmas Morning,
Run for the Roses, Morning Sky, Longer, Leader of the Band, Part
of the Plan, and the encore, Auld Lang Syne. He played around 1
hour 45 minutes.
Despite the cold and drizzle, it was a fabulous concert. The
audience seemed to really enjoy Dan. As stated in other reviews,
Dan seemed to be more in tune with the audience. He was very
talkative, and friendly. He joked quite a bit and told stories
about the songs he introduced. He said he wanted to come play for
us with just himself and his wooden friends. He put out a small,
white, plastic, horse on his piano when he played Run for the
Roses, and put out the Christmas tree and stocking, when he
played the Christmas song, like he also did at other concerts.
I have seen Dan in concert around seven times, and I think this
was his best performance ever.
Thanks Dan, hope you have warmed up!!
Happy listening all,
If you have a review to submit, please e-mail it to Wynn.
This page was last updated Tuesday, March 21, 2000