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ZONE
OUT with the ROLLING RIDER
This
Week: Sun and Phun
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4-15-01
Hard Rock Live - Orlando
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"I can't figure out, if it's the end or beginning..."
The only comparison that can be made to this show is that the venue itself was reminiscent of Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, night of the 'Fantasy>Deal' opener, and the 'glitziest' Dead family show in history. No scene to speak of as sweaty heads packed inside this neon momument to greenbacks to pay 8 bucks for a cup of a water as the PA announcer bellowed, God as my witness, 'Welcome to Grateful Dead weekend on the promenade...'; 'nuff said.
Hard Rock was on the promenade or some annex of, (or competition of), Disney of all things. Trams to the left of me, tourists to the right, here I am...stuck in the middle with Phil. All I know was that this would have been the perfect venue for a toddlers or tots first show. However, they were nowhere to be found in the mildly-friendly-at-best confines of the Hard Rock.
Rob Barracco finally got his chance to shine in the first set. After the opening jam mutated into an immaculate version of 'Unbroken Chain', Rob took us into a summer anthem , 'Dancin' in the Streets'. Phil's bass work was scintillating, and combined with some imaginative guitar exploration by Jimmy Herring, the song generated near-pandemonium. A 'jam' followed, the transition into another Rob Barracco number, the coveted 'Brown-Eyed Women'. If only for the way this guy simply nails lyrics to complex tunes, I'm in Rob's corner. "Cost two dollars you know it burned like hell...I cut hickory just to fire the still..."
The highlight of the first set had to be 'Birdsong', Phil sonorous voice beckoning to us to 'sleep in the stars', and 'fly through the night', while his pulsing bass marched us through the tune. The Orlando crowd benefited from the first re-run of the tour, the new Hunter tune 'Celebration', as many struggled to the exits gasping for oxygen amidst the swelter.
God, I hate to be so hard on the Hard Rock, did I mention they had 'water taxis' to get you to the hotels? They were delightful, and really lessened the blow of being ravaged for a single room.
Set Two. True blue rock-n-roll fans were really in for a treat. This tribute to gratuities rock, kicked off with the apropos 'Sunshine of Your Love'. Light on the pyschedelia and the searching, heavy on lead after lead on the guitar that was of the bending, shrill variety. Gluttons for driving cream-style rock were in their glory. Although a perfect tune for the friends lyrically, this catchy number was the beacon for what was truly some attempt at 'hard rock'. A hotbed for Clapton fans, the pairing of 'Sunshine of Your Love' with 'Keep on Growin' drove fans from the Sunshine State into a dizzy frenzy. Warren then slowed things down with another Hunter call, 'Forests of Fennario', and Ipersonally prayed for the muse to descend.
Phil answered my prayers, hitting a grand slam in the form of 'Lady with a Fan'. Since the inception of the Friends, this is one tune that Phil commands musically and lyrically. With the line, 'his job is too shed light, not to master', Jimmy Herring pioneered an innovative jam that took the Friends out of the lair of Terrapin, and into a 'Stella Blue' which melted on the stage, then liquefied the crowd. Warren got the nod for the vocals, and although there wasn't a 'blue-light cheap hotel' anywhere near that promenade, the lyrics rang true..."it all rolls into one, and nothing comes for free..."; John Molo catapulted the Friends into a jam that surprised everyone, finally cascading into new, faster interpretation of 'Terrapin Station'. Bathed in iridescence, swirling lights, the Friends took us to the peak of evening.
If being Brent incarnate wasn't enough, Warren did a deep version of Van Morrison's 'Into the Mystic' which brought me to my knees. Soulful and wondrous, this had to be the dark horse favorite of the night. 'GDTRFB' had to echo the sentiments of many heads, as this encored signaled it was time to get on the road, and get on with the rest of spring tour and beyond. Interpolated within 'GDTRFB' was another Hunter number, 'Rock and Roll Blues', which confirmed my sinking feeling that I had unfortunately entered some kind of rock-n-roll purgatory.
Our farewell was 'Bid u Goodnight', which, like the water-taxis, provided some consolation to an otherwise arduous Easter journey.
"I love you, oh but Jesus loves you the best..."
yours truely,
Rolling Rider .....
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