18 Jan 2002, Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, CA, USA
I've been a Steve Morse/Dregs fan since I first heard a Dregs tune on the radio (!!!) in Boston in about 1979. I have been fortunate to have always lived in an area where they tour. I've probably missed seeing Steve and Co. no more than 2 or 3 times since. So I might be a little biased :)
Last night's show was spectacular, as usual. One of the opening acts was Andy West's band FWAP. He's lost none of his chops. The guitar player was very good, sort of in an Alan Holdsworth mold I thought. A couple of the songs had vocals by the guitarist, but frankly he wasn't a very good singer and the vocals really added nothing to the tune, IMO. Other than that minor quibble, they all played very well, including the female drummer, Hillary Jones. I've never seen a woman pound the skins like that!
The Dregs played a spectacular show, as usual. The set list was the same as in San Francisco, except in place of Twiggs Approved for an encore, Steve, Andy, and Rod came out and did Huron River Blues. Jerry's Brick Chicken really smoked! The entire band seemed to be having a great time throughout. Dave's new rig dwarfs Steve's in size, and he switched among 3 different basses. Jerry brought out a violin he bought that day (at the NAMM show, I guess,) for the final encore. What great musicians and tunes. These guys cause eargasm!
I hung around after the show to meet Steve and hopefully the rest of the band. Steve came out by himself. This was the first time I've met him, and he is as friendly and down to earth a person as you could find. Totally without rock star attitude. He signed my California Screamin CD, and my ticket stub. Well, now I just have to wait for the SMB tour - hope it's soon.