BOC Live at T-Rex club

[Ted Jackson jr. EL84]

Saturday's gig was noteworthy in that BOC played at a pretty
good-sized club this time to a decent crowd for a change.  I'd say
maybe 500 people.  Hard to say, as this was a sprawling bar, with a
large patio area and 2 large rooms apart from the stage area.

There were at least 2 other bands, but I got there as the last
warm-up act was about 3 songs from finishing their set.  I know the
drummer in the first band, but didn't know he was playing with them
until I ran into him later.

BOC went on at 11pm.  Generic set list, I'm afraid, though it did
include The Vigil and In thee.  Could have done without the latter.
I wish they'd bring back Lips in the Hills.  Sound was great except I
COULDN'T HEAR BUCK DHARMA!!!  Huge disaster, esp since I was about 10
feet away from him.  He does indeed wear a moustache again [and looks
better this way IMHO] and a little tuft of hair below his lower lip,
a la Frank Zappa, I believe...

EB's vocal problems still in glaring evidence, with BD and Danny
backing up most of his parts, I'm afraid.  EB was playing the new
signature guitar which has a very nice BOC grafic on the top...

Allen played a lot of guitar, and was quite animated, though he
really looked like hell.  A Lone Star Strat, I believe, and a A-Y
acoustic on In Thee.  EB played keys quite a bit, again, removing his
shades now and then for extended periods...

Only one 'new' song that night, 'Live For Me,' which kicked ass, and
was well received by the crowd.  I was extremely pissed they didn't
play any more new stuff.  Kind of a short set, too, esp. given the
huge crowd--you'd think they would've taken the chance to
'cult'-ivate the good and receptive crowd.  What the hell do I
know?...

As someone else noted last week, why the extended solos by the
non-original members?  Esp. since it's clear that these guys are
simply hired hands.  Notice how neither of them ever says a word
on-mic exc. for their sung parts?  In fairness, we have to realize
that the rhythm section has served one important funtion:  they have
kept BOC together and on the road, and we owe them for that...Danny's
a monster player, and co-incidentally, uses a Spector bass--same
nodel Joe used in his later days with BOC...

My vantage point was excellent, or would have been if I could've
heard BD.  I could see every expression on his face.  As I've said
before, BD is in absolutely top form.  It's so frustrating to see him
playing the best guitar of his life in clubs--much better than when
he was playing football stadiums.  Ultimate irony and all that.  The
whole band was extremely tight and professional, exc. for EB's voice.
 Hell, BD even announced Buck's Boogie!  What's up with that?

BD didn't switch guitars for Reaper.  I assume he utilized the
Trans-Trem feature on his Steinberger, as he took a few moments to
re-tune before that song.  He's got a rack-mount tuner [Korg] with a
huge display that I could clearly see.  Pretty cool!

Total set time with encore was about 90 minutes.  A bit short
considering the excellent crowd, but nobody was griping due to the
excellent performance.  Very tight set--no waiting between songs--and
everything flowed along perfectly.

Encores:  O.D.'d and tRatB.  No big surprises here, though last time
I saw them they did O.D.'d early in the set.  One glitch:  EB
announced they were going to do a new song, but after a brief pause,
they did, I believe, TCtLDoM, which was excellent, BTW.  BD really
works out on that tune live.  My friend, who hadn't seen BOC in
probably 12 years was dumbstruck by BD's playing throughout the
show...

It's getting a bit frustrating to see an almost identical setlist so
often.  This is the third time in 8 months where they've played so
formulaically.  I realize our friends across the Atlantic don't want
to hear of such whining esp. in face of a glut of riches, but after
waiting a good five years before the beginning of this string, I'm
looking forward to a little variety.  Guess I'll have to wait 'til
the record is released.  Very little [if any] mention of EW, BTW...

In all, I guess I should count my blessings.  A truly competent show
by a band I'll never get sick of seeing, no matter how frustrating it
can be at times.  Definitely check them out this summer, for, given a
few reservations, they still can level any venue they play in...

theo