| Hey Y'All,
Well, I pulled 4th row DFC the day Pittsburgh went on sale and couldn't resist! A four hour drive didn't seem too bad, but the thought of the after show drive, yecch! The Benedum Center I found out was the auspicious Stanley Theatre that has held many great shows from past years. A little history of the theatre:
Benedum Center Facts
There are over 90 crystal chandeliers, torchieres and sconces in the theater, all but one are original. The Central Brass Company located in Reading, PA refurbished them.
The Grand Lobby mirrors, marble and woodwork are all original.
At the landing on each staircase in the Grand Lobby are 18-foot high original mirrors meant to be reminiscent of the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles.
The signature piece of the Benedum Center is the original main chandelier which weighs 4,700 pounds, is 20 feet high and 12 feet wide. It was restored in honor of the late H.J. Heinz II.
Approximately 95% of the interior of the building is plaster. It took a fifteen person crew almost a full year to complete the plaster renovations.
There are 1,500 feet of brass rail in the theater, most of which is original.
On St. Patrick's Day in 1936, the theater flooded within two feet of the balcony. Several men were trapped for three days until police arrived in a motorboat and rescued them.
The Benedum Center for the Performing Arts was named in honor of the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, which made the largest contribution toward the restoration of the theater.
The Benedum Center opened on Friday, September 25, 1987, with a show called Purely Pittsburgh. It was written by Dan Langen and produced by Mandy Levine. The show featured composers from Pittsburgh and performers with a Pittsburgh connection.
In 1928, the Stanley cost $3 million to build. In 1987, the Benedum Center cost $43 million to restore.
So, I meet Jesse in Streetsboro, south of Cleveland. He ran late getting me a bit anxious. We end up getting to the venue at 6:10 to meet Dan the Man. He was already at Sammy Deli getting me a hot corned beef with cole slaw. We met out front and I put my dinner in my gear bag. We set up with Heath who had 2 killer seats in row F, counting the pit, this is 12th row. He and Jaime, his wife, were very accomodating! A low keyed subdued crowd took their time arriving. I met Thomas Smith, photographer extroirdinaire! Hadn't seen him since last summer. It was an early show, 7:00. Good news for driving back afterwards.
JB led us off with Let's Get Down to Business, and they did. Not a Dyin' Man or Clowns come home fan. But, from Fish20 on, sweet! The kicker was the Machine>Barstools. Nice rap job by JB on the latter. The 2nd Happy of the tour, and again, a very nice long jam before Sonny had us swayed into Hatfield. A nice rap and then they closed with a Makes Sense. A pretty long set by today's standards. I went over to chat with Chris and said "long first set". He then told me there was a 10:30 curfew. I mentioned that I liked when he turned up Dave after a few songs. Apparently, Dave adjusted himself. It did sound better and thicker at that point. Chris was stuck all the way in the back underneathe the overhang. Sometimes I wonder why they do that to the sound engineers! It does not seem right. I knew at that point that it was going to be a short break. I hung out and talked to Dan, Mitchell, Heath, Jesse, and Alex, as we all were taping the show. Met Bill, a local taper that moved from Columbus. Don't recall meeting him at all the shows I'Ve seen in Columbus.
True to form, and curfew, the boys hit the stage after only a 22 minute break, shortest in a long time! Time Zonz>Give opened up the set. Not at all my favorites. then it got interesting! A beautiful Surprise Valley started the 2nd set jam. Funny, but I texted C. Fox Drivin'>Low Spark>Drivin' during the ride to Steel Town. I'll be damned! only they slipped an ILS in there. The Papa's that followed was icing on the cake. Of course Tall Boy got everyone up to end the set. I couldn't ask for a nicer 2 song selection for the encore. I believe it was Jimmy's first Can't Find My Way Home. And he nailed it!
After bidding farewells to everyone, Jesse and I hit the road back. Where were Melissa and Connie? Did they make the show? They were there in Louisville last August for the inaugural PPCBL. Post Panic Cosmic Bowling League at the Lucky Strike! If time had permitted, I would have stopped at Primonti Brothers for a sandwich. We did stop at Sheetz Truck Stop. I ordered a small meatball sub, and a small hot Italian sub. Made to order and quite tasty I might add. The next day, I had Union Negotiations. Ouch! I somehow servived unscathed.
Here is how it went down:
Widespread Panic
Benedum Center
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
4/10/2007
7:21
Let's Get Down To Business 5:40
Dyin' Man 4:59
Little Kin > 6:11
When The Clowns Come Home > 5:19
Fishwater > 5:17
Drums> 1:57
Fishwater 5:13
Machine > 3:04
Barstools and Dreamers 11:37
Happy >Jam> 8:24
Drums > 1:00
Hatfield > 12:16
Makes Sense To Me 4:25
8:35
8:55
Time Zones > 6:22
Give 5:12
Surprise Valley > 4:55
Drums > 1:58
Surprise Valley > 5:47
Driving Song > 4:12
Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys > 11:21
Imitation Leather Shoes > Jam> 10:13
Driving Song > 2:27
Papa's Home > 7:42
Drums > 2:38
Papa's Home :59
Tall Boy 4:20
10:05
10:08
Can't Find My Way Home > 4:42
Goin' Out West 5:45
10:18
Schoeps CCM4V'S>Lunatec V2>Sound Devices 722
FOB DFC KFC ZFC AARP ROW F
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TODAY'S FEATURED HUMOR(After last week's Masters, I figured golf humor is due):
A nun walks into Mother Superior's office and plunks
down into a chair. She lets out a sigh heavy with
frustration."What troubles you, Sister?" asks the
Mother Superior. "I thought this was the day you spent
with your family."
"It was," sighed the Sister. "And I went to play golf
with my brother.We try to play golf as often as we
can. You know I was quite a talented golfer before I
devoted my life to Christ."
"I seem to recall that," the Mother Superior agreed.
"So I take it your day of recreation was not
relaxing?"
"Far from it," snorted the Sister. "In fact, I even
took the Lord's name in vain today!"
"Goodness, Sister !" gasped the Mother Superior,
astonished."You must tell me all about it!"
"Well, we were on the fifth tee...and this hole is a
monster mother a 540 yard Par 5, with a nasty dogleg
left and a hidden green and I hit the drive of my
life. I creamed it. The sweetest swing I ever made.
And it's flying straight and true, right along the
line I wanted...and it hits a bird in mid-flight not
100 yards off the tee!"
"Oh my!" commiserated the Mother. "How unfortunate,
but surely that didn't make you blaspheme, Sister!"
"No, that wasn't it," admitted Sister. "While I was
still trying to fathom what had happened, this
squirrel runs out of the woods, grabs my ball and runs
off down the fairway!"
"Oh, that would have made me blaspheme!" sympathized
the Mother.
"But I didn't, Mother Superior!" sobbed the Sister.
"And I was so proud of myself! And while I was
pondering whether this was a sign from God,
this hawk swoops out of the sky and grabs the squirrel
and flies off,with my ball still clutched in his
talons !"
"So that's when you cursed," said the Mother with a
knowing smile.
"Nope, that wasn't it either," cried the Sister,
anguished, "because as the hawk started to fly out of
sight, the squirrel started struggling, and the hawk
dropped him right there on the green, and the ball
popped out of his paws and rolled to about 18 inches
from the cup!"
Mother Superior sat back in her chair, folded her arms
across her chest,fixed the Sister with a baleful stare
and said...
"You missed the fu**ing putt, didn't you?"
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I see that Don Imus got canned. What he said was totally idiotic and he was wrong, but the punishment? Hmm.. lots of pressure.
Also of interest: I see Warren covered Luther Ingram's 1972 hit "If Loving You is Wrong" last night. Very cool tribute as Luther died last month.
In 1972, he released a recording of the classic Homer Banks, Raymond Jackson and Carl Hampton song, '(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right'. Produced by Johnny Baylor, the song reached number one on Billboard magazine's R & B chart, and peaked at number three on that publication's Hot 100 chart in 1972.
i know several of you were not around back then, but I do remember the airplay that song received.
Late,
Z-Man
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