25 Apr 2003, B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, New York City, NY, USA
I first heard Steve play at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA back in 1985 and have been a huge fan ever since. Being a guitar player myself I am always amazed by Steve's technical prowess and musical genius. After his shows I always feel a mix of emotions, I'm not sure if I'm inspired to practice or if I feel like giving up because I'll never come close to reaching his level. Fortunately the former wins out and I keep plugging away.
Anyway...on to the show. I staked out the best position I possibly could which in this case happened to be leaning on Steve's monitor. Steve and his tech where having some kind of equipment problem before the show kicked off and I could see Steve making some faces during the first song or two but I sure didn't hear that anything was wrong. I think there was some kind of bypass issue with his Lexicon controller. Oh yeah, a band named PsuedoPod opened up. They were technically very good and the songs had interesting hooks but the singer really just sounds like a Dave Mathews clone. Very good mind you but just not original sounding. (my opinion mind you) What can I say about the Dregs except they were as amazing as ever. There were a bunch of guys probably in their early twenties (I'm 37) standing next to me totally freaking out with every lick Steve played. It's great to see the Dregs winning over a new generation of fans. I was really thrilled to see this line-up. I have never heard Rod before so that was a real treat, what a player! I love Dave's playing of course but wouldn't it be cool to get Andy back up there again. I wonder if he's ever invited to tour.
Steve was his usual self with the fans, shaking fans, throwing picks into the audience etc. I had a picture of myself taken with him back in '87 and he gladly signed it for me. If anyone (which I doubt) reading this has never seen a Dregs or SMB show do yourself a huge favor and go see them. You'll will be amazed, inspired, awestruck and an instant fan for life!