I wasn't actually at this show, I'm writing this show based on the CDs I have, courtesy of Doug.
So, anyways, Joe welcomes the crowd to Little City, and off they go, into Leon The Pig Farmer. Leon strikes me as a rockin' opener, on par with when the Allman's open with Statesboro Blues. It's not quite as rockin an opener as Stuck In The Mud, but as openers go, its great. This is a great version of Leon, with Julee way out front, and Joe's vocals were strong.
Rock steady backbeats from Mike, and Dennis absolutely nails his ending solo, as Mike, Julee and Joe provide flawless foundation. Then, its question and answer time, Joe taking a question from a random fan, and then right into Peter & The Prostitute, which ended up being nine minutes of pure joy. Great flute lines from Julee during the intro, and a great rendition all around, with another interesting solo from Dennis, which at Julee's request, the crowd applauds for. Stop start segue jumping right into Hey Pocky Way, just enough time to let Julee switch from flute to sax, and then theyre off on this well placed cover, with Joe's vocals staying strong, and his bass and Mike's drums providing a solid floor for Dennis to walk all over. Despite a great jam before the last verse, this could have gone on longer, only clocking in at around 5 minutes, including an awesome jam, but they crammed in the last verse and melted down, ending the song, jumping right into a stellar All Blues. All Blues was chock full of amazing work by all four musicians, with Julee, then Dennis, then Mike and Joe all getting their turn to show their stuff. Lasting just short of ten minutes this was one of the highlights of the night, showcasing each bandmember and their respective skills. Once each member was done with their solos, Julee and Dennis came out on top with a call and response jam that in the end of, Julee stumped Dennis. Another short solo from Julee followed, and she then put down her flute to take her first lead vocal of the night, and out came the funk. Ecstasy was next, and it was a welcome pick me up after the laid back groove of All Blues. Joe, Dennis & Mike held down the groove perfectly, showing that strong foundation that they always bring to the table. Julee shows everyone that effect pedals arent just for instruments, applying a tad of echo to her voice on her first lead vocal of the night. Ripping solo from Dennis, quoting slightly from St. Stephen, then veering off into near shred territory, before restating the main riff of Ecstasy, and then slamming right into Fungus Amongus, to continue the funk. Joe takes back vocal duties as Julee lays down a flute line that mixes perfectly with his bassline. Fungus Amongus slid effortlessly into Mother Bruscoe, with a bit of slide guitar from Dennis, and a great backline from Joe and Mike. About two minutes in, Julee hops on top of the groove with another stellar flute run, as Dennis solos underneath her briefly, later to reemerge yet closer to shred territory once again. Quick stop, and then its time for Mike to tell us about a Crazy Girl, and slow down the tempo for a bit. Quick little jam before the main theme to Crazy Girl comes in, led by Dennis & Julee. Great up and down groove throughout the entire song, and Julee's harmony vocals with Mike fit perfectly. Another great ending solo by Dennis, and the band chatters about Mike for a moment, before Joe jumps right into Stuck In The Mud. The return of Julee's sax, and Mike funking out drove this song to good heights. All four musicians set everything they had on the stage for this tune, strong performances all around. Sick quick solo by Joe about 2 and a half minutes in, and then Julee drops in with a superb solo run through a really cool effect that I cant place. An all out performance by all four on this tune.
On to disc 2, which starts with one of my favorite tunes, Moose. Awesome work by all four once again especially from Julee, remembering to click on and off the vocal effect for the growls. Joe & Mike's work shine on this nearly nine minute slice of music. I wish I had better ears, so I could figure out if Julee was actually speaking or just growling. Moose wound itself down, and up came the Julee showcase, State Of Mind, in which she sings solo, and lays down some awesome flute, over a a steady beat from Joe & Mike, with some flair work by Dennis to add to the madness. State Of Mind slowly has made its way inside my head, and has emerged as my favorite tune from Rub It, just ahead of Blue Scenes, and this version does not dissapoint. Really good effect filled vocal jam by Julee, over the same steady groove by the other three, and then Dennis circles a solo underneath Julee's vocals. Joe pipes up in support of Julee, and we're off to the country for a hoedown.Thelonius & Sue make their appearance and the crowd picks up, as Joe and Dennis have some fun. Thelonius & Sue is fast becoming another of my favorite tunes, and it seems like the band enjoys dropping the tune on the audience. Joe's vocals and bassline are prominent in this tune, driving the beat that Dennis & Mike support perfectly. Great work all around on this tune, Dennis' solo towards the end stands out, with a quick quote from Voodoo Chile(slight return). Jumping right into a Led Zeppelinish jam to bridge into My Good Time was a nice touch. Julee returns to the saxaphone, and with the settings she dialed up, you'd never know it was a sax unless you saw it live, for parts of the tune. Julee and Joe match lines for a while, giving Dennis an opportunity to lay back and play support for a little while. This tune rages on as usual, reaching the ten minute mark, with Julee shining for most of it, and Joe's vocals remained strong. Great ending, and up next was a big steaming Shit Sandwich, which was quite appetizing, despite its title. Julee defied all logic once again with some interesting flute work, and Dennis, Joe & Mike shone as well. Short drum solo in the middle to give Mike his due for the evening. The rest of the band kicks back in for a short ending jam as the crowd gives it up for Mike, and then after a very short pause, we're off to Blue Scenes, and Joe shines brightly on this tune, driving the song with a great bassline. Inventive work all around during this tune, which clocks in a ten minutes. Julee lays down some more distorted sax lines over Joe's basslines, and Dennis follow suit with some great work. Great jamming all the way through by all four, the ending segment is especially strong. The ending draws out, and jams into Shakedown Street, the main riff driven by Joe & Julee, with Dennis and Mike taking charge of the support. Dennis follows the lyric lines with some work thats on par with Warren & Jimmy on a good day with Phil. Everyone shines throughout, and Joe and Dennis jam on a verse of Another Brick In The Wall part 2 for good measure, before returning to the Shakedown Street riff to end the tune.
On to disc 3, which starts with Digging In The Dirt, which is driven by Dennis' fluid guitar. Julee lays down a wonderful descending line of her own and the tune progresses into Joe's vocals. All four steadily navigate through the tune, which dissolves into a poem by band friend John Cook. Cook's words incite the crowd, as does Dennis' stellar solo afterwards, which slides back into the rest of Digging In The Dirt. Quick stop start segue into My Purple Love Song, mostly supported by a great bassline by Joe, and a great slide guitar line from Dennis. Rock solid drumming as always, from Mike supports the beat perfectly, as Joe vocalizes. Julee comes in to lay down a good flute solo to lead back into another verse, and Dennis nails yet another song ending solo run, winding around Joe perfectly. Up next is the only down moment of the night, as Dennis and Mike run through the Jeopardy Final Jeopardy theme, and part of the original Super Mario Brothers theme, joined by Joe towards the end, as if somebody was having equipment troubles for a moment. Dennis noodles around a bit more as Mike and Joe join in on a nice little jam that leads into Rub It, which stretches on for about ten minutes of great playing. All four effortlessly wind their parts together to form a nice big wall of sound for Joe to sing over. Julee's descending flute line is a great bridge to a mostly bass and drums segment with Dennis and Julee lending in riffs to augment when necessary. The same Led Zeppelinish jam from earlier makes a brief appearance to lead Joe back into the next verse, with another great flute line leading the way. Another great long solo from Dennis leads into the final verse, and then another one takes over the short jam after the final verse. Up next is Ventura Highway, which is highlited by some great bass work by Joe, and great support from Dennis and Mike. Great work all the way around, and it's a nice low key intro to a slow jam that leads its way intro a monster version of Statesboro Blues, driven to perfection by Joe and Dennis, with great contributions from Mike and some great support work from Julee. One of the better single guitar versions of Statesboro Blues that I've heard, but as most single guitar versions, it lacks slightly in the support structure, without the second instrument to chord behind the leads, but Dennis' slide riffs are perfect. Statesboro Blues winds down with a flourish, and thusly ends the evening. Great show all the way througout, but as stated, I'm going by the CDs, which show a great vibe.