11 Jan 2003, Slim's, San Francisco, CA, USA
For the 2nd year in a row, my wife and I made the 3 hour journey to see Steve and the Dregs at Slims in San Francisco. While waiting in line we met many new friends and everyone was excited and anticipating a great show.
Upon entering, our first stop was the merchandise table where we
purchased the "Sects, Dregs & Rock 'n' Roll" DVD. Business was brisk
and through out the evening there were perhaps 50, if not more, of these DVD's sold.
Opening for the Dregs was the Eric McFadden Trio. Eric played some blistering acoustic guitar during a 40 minute or so set.
After a fairly short intermission, it was time for the Dregs. This band never ceases to amaze as they are the tightest, most talented, and happy group of musicians that one could hope for.
Steve's welcome, as usual, was silly and fun. He thanked everyone for coming and mentioned that the band had been together for about 24 hours and that they had played their first show the night before. He was very funny.
Though the set list contained the usual
Dregs greatest hits, there were still a few surprises. One being the inclusion of "The Great Spectacular" which was both great and spectacular, hence it's name. Also a version of "The Bash" which was so hot you could almost see smoke raising from the stage. Then came "I'm Freaking Out" which we had never heard before but was simply fantastic. (note to self...must purchase "Dregs Of The Earth" soon).
An amazing Dregs show with lots of happy fans in attendance, but the night was not over yet.
After the show, for the first time, my wife and I waited around for the "meet and greet". We were not disappointed. Steve was very gracious as he talked to each individual as if they were the only one there. He autographed our DVD, (plus a little drawing of a guitar), allowed my wife to take a picture of him and I together (sigh), and even answered some of my burning questions.
I asked Steve if there might be a new Dregs studio album in the "future". He explained how busy he was (of course!) and how he was working on the new Deep Purple album and the future release of "Major Impacts 2". I also asked how work on the new Deep Purple album was coming. Steve stated that they had about 40 or 50 songs to decide from and that they were going into the studio on tuesday (Jan. 14th) to start recording.
All too soon the evening was over, but my wife and I had a wonderful time and we can't wait to see this marvelous group of musicians again.