Bob Walkenhorst, June 29, 2005

It must have been a really good show, because we got an encore. Yup, they ended, Bob thanked everyone or whatever exactly he said end of show, he took his guitar off, Norm was putting his shoes (sandles) back on, and the audience was appauding, the continuous "we want an encore" sort of applause. And we got one more song. :)

As for me personally, I was just plain tuckered by the end of the show. Actually, I was tired by 9 pm. It was basically non stop dance tunes. And right there in the first song, well, I tried to stay sitting, wait on the dancing till later. But I couldn't. Nope. Anyway, despite being tired after the first hour, the music energized me so I somehow had energy to keep dancing. After 2 hours, though, I was tuckered. So I sat out the last 2 songs (or the last song and the encore if you prefer). Yeah, they went slightly over 2 hours. Didn't surprise me. Given the energy of the show, I figured they'd go over a little rather than end right on time.

So, I wonder if Saturday is going to be a mellow show again. :) (If there is a Saturday show.)

It wasn't quite totally non stop dance tunes. There was "No Romance" (oh good, I can sit down and take a break, I was thinking). And then later, well, I forget the first, and then "Doomsville", which is actually semi-dancable, and I think some folks were dancing to it, but I gave myself a break.

Someone I was talking to (who I'd just met) commented to me (during the show)that there were lots of Rainmakers songs. I didn't notice at the time, but, thinking about it, I don't remember a lot of covers or solo songs. I recall "Call a Wrecker", "Jan Vermeer" and "Jay Walkers", and "Brown Eyed Girl". (Most of which were after the conversation in question.) Oh yeah, and "Paradise".

Good show. But I've no clue how well that will translate to a recording.

It was a barefoot day. They'd all 3 worn sandles, no socks. Jeff started out the show barefoot. Bob and Norm took there shoes off mid show. Not sure I'd seen Jeff or Norm barefoot, no socks, before. :)

Oh yeah, and "Rock On". Which, while they were playing it, I was pretty sure it was one of those songs where I was familiar with a cover version. And, research shows, it's a 70s song, and there was a cover version in, I think it was 1990. And I forget who did it. :) Either version. :) Actually, there are more than one cover version listed at All Music Guide.

I'm done now. Really. Maybe. ;)

Bob Walkenhorst, Saturday June 4, 2005

(Posted at the Rainmakers message board)

It's like Wednesday and Saturday were reversed this week. This show felt more like a Wednesday than the Wednesday show did.

It was a quite small crowd for a weekend show. Down right tiny crowd when I got there at 8:20, though it filled in more as the evening wore on. Never standing room only, though. I don't think the booths along the wall ever got used.

Mellow mood. Or... The dancing started early, but that was just me. :) I was dancing before it all started. They had some quite good music playing. I also got up and danced during John Northern twice. And danced to the first several songs of the Bob set and I think I danced more than sat.

Most other folks just sat and watched on the drumless stuff. But when there was drums, there was dancing. Now, I don't personally get how having drums makes a difference, but apparently they do.

I was not at all surprised to see a drum kit on stage when I got there. (Or, rather, most of a drum kit. The large tom was missing at that point. I'm thinking Jeff brought the tom when he got there.) I would have been more surprised not to see it, actually. They played a good long while with bass and two guitars. Then Jeff got behind the drums for several songs. Then back to bass and 2 guitars. Then, towards then end of the show, Bob played drums for a while.

Back up a song. They played "Paradise". I love that song as they do it. And I remember they used to do it without harmonica, that that was a later addition, but, frankly, I can't even now imagine it without the harmonica.

So, after that song Bob got behind the drums and Jeff sang "Thinking of You". The song which Jeff wrote that, as reported here previously in posts now gone, was recorded by the Skatalites and is getting airplay in France.

After that song, was "Hoo Dee Hoo" (er, I think I'm remembering right, anyway). And Norm sat down on his amp for that song, leaving Jeff the only one standing. Bob sang while playing drums. Yes, Norm had an amp. That was odd. He also had his silver bass there, but he didn't play it, he played Bob's bass.

And somewhere in there they did "A Little Bit of White Trash" (or whatever exactly the official title is).

Jeff played one of his electrics while Bob was on drums. He had both, but unless I spaced out and missed it, he only played one of them, the bigger one.

Let's see, before I got distracted by mentioning the mood, and thus talked about dancing, I was talking about crowd. Like I said, small crowd for a Saturday. Threat of bad weather probably contributed to that. Though, me, I looked at the weather on the Internet; the tornado watch was set to expire at 11 pm, and from the radar, didn't look like we'd get anything before we got to Molloy's. So, I figured I wouldn't have to drive in it, so no problem.

We did get a strong rain storm during the show. The electricity even flashed off. When power returned (took a few moments more to get power back to the equipment, or maybe they just had to turn stuff on again, I've no knowledge of the technical side of music) they picked up where they left off, mid song.

I went out and watched the rain during one song. I like rain. :) There's just something nice about it. And I got to see a really pretty lightning strike while out there. Somehow, that did not mentally prepare me for the very loud thunder that came soon after.

Another note on dancing. John Phillips (older brother of Steve if anyone was wondering) has been doing crew stuff at both Elders gigs and Bob shows lately, so I've seen him around quite a bit lately, but I hadn't ever seen him out on the dance floor. When they played "Jan Vermeer" him and a female I didn't recognize got out on the dance floor and were doing some very nice dancing. The kind of fancy dancing I have no talent whatsoever at. But I enjoyed watching while doing my own kind of dancing. He, with that lady and then a different female danced a couple more songs too.

I overhead on stage Norm saying to Bob or Bob and Jeff "38 views and no replies", obviously referring to a message board post, and my post on the Elders board about this show seemed to be the only one it could apply to. Then not too much later they mention this speaking to the audience. Norm just says "the message board". :) And, I think they mentioned this in relationship to the lack of crowd at the show. You know, I think there were more Elders fans at the previous weekend show, without Norm. Those escaping the cold (outdoor Elders gig; it was a nice afternoon and cooled off much after dark) or coming after the Elders show. There were even Elders members there by the end of the Bob show. (I actually mentioned that show on the Elders message board beforehand too, not as a suggestion that anyone go to it, just saying what I was doing.)

Jeff, of his drumming, or of him playing the drums (drum set) said he has no pride. I'm not sure exactly what he was commenting on, because I don't get the comment. Maybe he means he doesn't think he's very good as a drummer but does it anyway? But, hey, he's good enough. No fancy drum parts needed.

This show had a homey feel. Not the extatic top of the mountain feel of some shows, but a different sort of real good feeling. A homey, comfy feeling.

Bob Walkenhorst, June 1, 2005

(posted at the Rainmakers message board)

Good show. It was nice sharing Bob's birthday with him. Bob got a few Birthday gifts. Mostly I've no clue what. I do recall what Sharon gave him. An Elvis picture disc LP. Kinda cool. Bob showed it off during the show, and then did "Burning Love". I also recall what I gave Bob. :) I wrote a poem / song (to a folk tune melody) and recorded me singing it. The thing is, giving that as a gift, I don't get to know what Bob thinks of it when I give it. Oh, I know he appreciated that I did it, but I don't know his reaction to reading and / or listening. :)

There were balloons. There was cake.

During one point in the show, between songs, a guitar string was hanging loose off Jeff's guitar. What did Jeff actually break a guitar string? Actually, no. The guitar string remained unbroken. The peg holding it on had popped out. While we all waited for Jeff to fix his guitar, Sharon had the wise thought to sing Happy Birthday to Bob, and she had no trouble getting the rest of us to join in.

There was a good crowd last night. Lots of folks to celebrate Bob's birthday and hear some good music.

Bob noted during the show that the daughter of the teacher saved by Primativo Garcia, the daughter who was still inside her mother when that happened, she was at Primative Garcia School yesterday, with her son, who's name is Primativo. (The daughter lives in California, Bob said. And Bob wasn't there, just knew about it.)

Lots of dancing, which started early. Though I didn't hop out on to the dance floor at the first song, because I saw a non Bob fan friend of mine at the door, and went to talk to him for a bit. (He was looking for Megan the waitress if she still worked there, to wish her a Happy Birthday; he said her birthday was recently. Alas, all he got was a conversation with me and a wave to Norm (he's an Elders fan).)

We got to hear "White Trash" again. Now that it's familiar it doesn't have quite the same lyrical punch as when it was new, but it's still a great song and great to hear. And an added bonus is getting to watch Bob play drums.

Oh yeah, that reminds me off another gift someone got Bob. From someone at the front table, I believe, but I don't know a name. A box of wine. :) Bob, instead of ordering a glass of wine or a Guinness from stage, asked for an empty wine glass, and drank from his box of wine.

And that's all I remember. :)