Re: 7/4/2012 San Diego County Fair
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 11:37 pm
I had a great time. I opted for the table seating (with food service) without knowing who else would be there. But when I was ushered to my table, lo, there at the adjoining table were Tina, Peggy and Carlotta (and Peggy's friend whom I have now met TWICE and her name hasn't stuck yet). And the next few adjoining tables never got anybody, so we spread out and all had "front row" seats. First was the Navy Band (very good!) then the fireworks, then Al!
Right in front of the stage was a free-with-admission standing section. So lots of energy up front.
Same setlist as last fall and at Primm's. "You Make Me"-- I don't remember very well, but this might have had a little extra video stuff added to make use of the capabilities of the new video system. The videos have been changed up to include recent Face to Face's. It discombobulated me a bit when the "Brain Freeze" segment didn't lead into SLN, but, hey, I'm adaptable. I also noticed that during SLN, each of the 3 screens was showing a different view of cow-chewing-cud closeup and dancing janitor. During Craigslist Al was playing Words With Friends with Alec Baldwin at Pipes Cafe on Liverpool Drive. He's really squeezing all the drama possible out of that bit lately.
And for the shallow-minded females among us, may I just mention that the live video allowed us to see Al from the front and from the back simultaneously during this song? For WBUL, Al climbed down a stack of equipment cases and right into that crowd of standee fans. They were pressing so closely around him, snapping pictures and getting video, that Al could barely move. I was almost afraid they'd pick him up and pass him around overhead. Watching Al return to the stage for the end of the song, I was reminded again of how agile and strong Al is-- he went back up that tall stack of equipment cases like Spiderman.
There must have been a fair number of people down front who haven't seen Al for a long time... they actually began leaving! Biiig mistake. It was after 11:30 when the show ended, and worth every minute, even though I had to be back at work again today. As we were leaving, we saw Jay Levey and stopped to say hello. He always seems kind of freaked out when he's recognized.
Right in front of the stage was a free-with-admission standing section. So lots of energy up front.
Same setlist as last fall and at Primm's. "You Make Me"-- I don't remember very well, but this might have had a little extra video stuff added to make use of the capabilities of the new video system. The videos have been changed up to include recent Face to Face's. It discombobulated me a bit when the "Brain Freeze" segment didn't lead into SLN, but, hey, I'm adaptable. I also noticed that during SLN, each of the 3 screens was showing a different view of cow-chewing-cud closeup and dancing janitor. During Craigslist Al was playing Words With Friends with Alec Baldwin at Pipes Cafe on Liverpool Drive. He's really squeezing all the drama possible out of that bit lately.
And for the shallow-minded females among us, may I just mention that the live video allowed us to see Al from the front and from the back simultaneously during this song? For WBUL, Al climbed down a stack of equipment cases and right into that crowd of standee fans. They were pressing so closely around him, snapping pictures and getting video, that Al could barely move. I was almost afraid they'd pick him up and pass him around overhead. Watching Al return to the stage for the end of the song, I was reminded again of how agile and strong Al is-- he went back up that tall stack of equipment cases like Spiderman. There must have been a fair number of people down front who haven't seen Al for a long time... they actually began leaving! Biiig mistake. It was after 11:30 when the show ended, and worth every minute, even though I had to be back at work again today. As we were leaving, we saw Jay Levey and stopped to say hello. He always seems kind of freaked out when he's recognized.