Whew! I made it. The weather held and Delta got me to Wisconsin right on time. For those of you who know my reviews you may wanna click here now. I can tell this is gonna be a long one! :)

Although Tim and I are living in Texas these days, I came up to Michigan via Milwaukee from Atlanta. I was there for 4 performances of my one woman show Hand to Mouth… Check out that site for a completely non-CT related topic… Before I get back to the topic at hand though, I must say that if you are ever in Atlanta you simply must see the MLK Jr. National Historic monument. I didn’t get as much time there as I wanted, but seeing the gravesite and birthplace of one of my long-time heroes was among the most intense experiences of my life. Wow…

So, my flight got into Milwaukee with no problems (would that I could give some of my good air travel luck to Kim Gisborne!) and hit the road in my rental car for the trek to Sault Ste. Marie. The chick at Alamo talked me into the upgrade and I was happy with the car – just miffed that there was only a cd player for the stereo. "Little Miss Plan Ahead" only brought some tapes, figuring that yeah, there might be a cd in the rental car, but there would DEFINITELY be a tape player, right?!

Oh well. On the way I grabbed a couple cd’s I’d been meaning to buy anyway (Foo Fighters and Stevie Ray Vaughn’s remastered “Texas Flood” album) because I knew I’d go insane with just the radio...

I have 2 words for the drive from MKE to SSM:

Oy vey.

Sheesh, that was long. Keep in mind that I live in Texas, so I’m even used to long drives! Lordy...

Anyway, at least the weather was clear and by the time I made the turn into the U.P. (that’s Michigan lingo for “Upper Peninsula” BTW) it was bright and sunny. The views of Green Bay and Lake Michigan were fantastic. I’ve never been that far north in Michigan during the summer time – you just know it’s beautiful, though…

And even though I’m griping about the drive, it was sorta fun, too. My mom’s side of the family is from Wisconsin (her maiden name is Olsen – hello! Of course she’s from Wisconsin!) so all the way up to Michigan the silos and farms gave me flashbacks to family road trips to the farm in Stevens Point for summer vacations and Christmases…

I got to the Kewadin Casino about 5:30 pm. Just in time to miss sound check. Doh! I got this news from Robin when I saw him in the lobby. Too bad, so sad. After unsuccessfully searching for any of the friends I was meeting there, I checked into my room. Got a heck of a deal on the rate. Woo hoo! Makes up for the fact that the show is in a casino.

Yes, at risk of offending many, let me state for the record that I do NOT like casinos. They depress me. No daylight. The disconcerting background noise of all the slot machines. People on respirators smoking and playing the slots for hours on end… And I do believe that Satan him/herself came up with the idea to put ATMs in a joint like that…

Just MHO, people. On a positive note, when CT plays places like this, the line to get in is almost always inside. Plus the people watching is always great… :)

The Dream Maker Theatre is not unlike other casino venues I’ve been to and read about. Seating was assigned but there were no tables (unless you count the barstools along a rail in the back). I’m not sure, but if I had to guess how many it seats, I’d say about 2000. Seemed to be plenty of lighting instruments above the stage and out over the crowd. John’s set up was right inside the doors as you came in.

I stopped to chat with him for a bit before going to my seat. He’s bounced back nicely from his illness in January. I’d heard he’d been having trouble back then so I was glad to see he was doing better... There’s quite the assortment of shirts these days… He told me that they’re hoping to get a new Silver shirt in by Rockford with the artwork that’s on the new double CD. After gabbing with the guy I told him I needed to let him go so he could take people’s money. :)

My seat for Friday night’s show was right in front, off center between Robin and Rick. Woo hoo! The stage itself was plenty big – up about 4 feet and there was no barrier. Still no sign of my buddies and there was no one else sitting in the front yet either, so I felt a little dorky (yeah, yeah… not the first time and certainly not the last, I’m sure).

Fortunately Lee (the new sound guy with the infamous cameo in the DirecTV special) came out front and admired my Homer sign. He showed it to another techie – who’s name escapes me. Watching the work onstage I knew the rumors I’d heard were true. Sven’s on indefinite leave due to shoulder problems. :( Sven, buddy, if you’re out there, I just wanna say I miss you! And I know I’m not the only one. Oh – one more thing: get well, damnit!

THE SHOW

The opening band was Saint James. The lead singer is from Black and Blue. Never heard of the guy. I think I’ve heard of that band but I couldn’t name a tune of theirs to save my life. All I have to say about them is their guitarist and drummer are hot.

What can I say? I’m a sucker for guys with long hair. Always have been – always will be. ;) Hell, give me some eye candy and I’ll listen to Boxcar Willie. :)

During their set, my buddy from Boston, Stephanie arrived. Maria, Kim, Samantha, Ron and Kai were not too far behind. So good to see all of those fine people – and to know that everyone had a safe journey.

We were all ready for the main event.

FASHION REPORT

I guess the venue has issues. They only let acts play for an hour. WTF? Oh well. Obviously, this meant a shorter set, which was:

Fun show – although they were forced to keep it short. The list was shuffled up a bit as a result. The guys looked happy to be playing together again after a little time off. Lots of smiles all around which is always a pleasure to watch. Good energy all around.

RICK BANTER

He went down the line of us rattling off where the hard-core fans were from (only needing a little help remembering all the places). Nice of him to recognize us like that. He added that there were probably some people from Michigan and Canada there too…

He spotted a copy of “Guitars of the Stars” in the front row and said it looked “worn out” he asked the woman holding it if the guy next to her was her husband. “He looks worn out too.”

Rick was more than happy to take the “Rockin’ in Wisconsin” laminate, specially made by Ron. He even used it as a pick for a bit. Between that and the new DirecTV picks he had quite an assortment that night…

There was a push for the new Silver CD – Kim happily provided his copy as a prop. After the plug he said they were recording new stuff that would see the light of day some time during this millennium.

MISC. STUFF

Someone behind me insisted on yelling “THE FLAME!!!!!!! PLAY THE FLAME!!!!!!” throughout the show. Hafta admit that the mean spirited side of me was happy when they didn’t. :)

And what’s this? No IKWIW? Tom didn’t get to sing lead at all, poor guy. At the end of the show, he handed Kim one of his new picks. A white on white tortoise shell look with the CT logo in gold. Very nice… Rick’s new tech did a good job. Certainly better than the poor guy who worked the December 30^th show. :)

POST SHOW BLATHERING

We congregated at one of the bars for a bit after the show, then roamed around looking for a quieter place where we could all sit and talk. At one point we saw Robin at the roulette table and decided to bug him along with the other fans who were doing the same. Kai went up to say hi and Robin talked a little about the plans underway for CT to go to Europe in late May/early June.

Stephanie, Kim, Sam, Ron, Kai and I found a less crowded bar and chatted for awhile before I ran out of steam. Fun times – the journey’d already been worth it and there were still several shows in store! Gotta love it….

Thanks for reading. My reviews for the other SSM show and Green Bay are coming… so check back!

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© Lisa Jebsen, 2001