Chris Isaak in Minneapolis

Went to see Chris Isaak at the Orpheum Theater last night, courtesy of some friends who kindly supplied the tickets. Really a great show, what a fabulous entertainer. Oddly enough, the sound guys didn't do a very good job. The bass guitar and bass drum were way heavy, while the lead guitar could hardly be heard in the first half of the set. The more acoustic part of the evening sounded good, though, and the levels were better when the electric set came back. I can't tell you how many rock/pop concerts I've been to where I thought the sound guys should just have been fired on the spot. There's no excuse for it, given the technology that's available today. Tristan Prettyman opened the show, and clearly had a following in town, although I have to confess that I can hardly bear to listen to girl singer-songwriters these days. The genre seems to be crowded with lesser talents that lack the poetry and musicality of forebears like Joni Mitchell and Shawn Colvin.

August gig

Today was a perfect day. Trap shooting in the morning, a massage in the afternoon, and a guitar gig in the early evening. I did two sets at the University Club of Saint Paul with the Mike Hachey Band, Carmin Pluntz of Beasley's Big Band guesting on alto and tenor saxophone. I played by Ibanez AF105F through a 15w Carvin tube amp: a suitably laid back sound for a small venue. Dennis Spears was in the house, and sang a blues medley with us: "Centerpiece" morphing into "Route 66". Others songs performed by the band included "Footprints", "Nostalgia in Times Square", "All of Me", and similar pieces from the great American songbook. In the later part of the evening, I went to Matty B's in Saint Paul, where Dennis was performing with a guitar, bass, and drums trio. Matty B's is a great place with fine food, good service and a nice bar. This will probably be my only night playing out this month, as I have to go to London next week and New York the next. Not to play guitar, unfortunately, but working for The Man.