[jrdada]

dada at the Key Club 11-28-03

Intro:
I called the Key Club around 8:30 to ask what time dada went on and the girl said, “Around 10:30.” Now if she had said, “Exactly 10:30 on the dot,” I would have known they’d go on around 10:45. Since she said, “Around 10:30,” I knew that meant almost 11. So, I left my house a little before 10. As I was driving down Sunset, I passed the Viper Room and the sign said World Without Sundays. I thought that was quite coincidental because that band opened for dada at the Galaxy theater on the night they recorded the live CD. Then I passed the Roxy and when I saw their marquee, I remembered my friend’s son’s band was playing there and originally thought I could catch their set before heading over to see dada. Oops.
Anyway, parked the car, walked into the club, bought a beverage, staked out a spot on the floor, Canned Heat started playing over the PA, and I knew we were minutes away from greatness.

The Show:
I think we all know by now how good the guys are live, but after a couple songs I was wondering if they were actually getting better.
It was the usual set list. I’ll reconstruct it as best as I can, but some songs might be missing or out of sequence.

Dim
Playboy
Surround
Trip

Not sure during which song it happened, but one of my personal highlights came early in the show. It was when Curious Gene, who was front and center, showed his cat-like reflexes and ducked just in time to avoid getting kicked in the head by Michael. It was unintentional of course and I don’t know if Mr. G’s foot would have actually made contact with Gene’s chin, but it was funny to see from my perspective.

Feet to the Sun
Heaven and Nowhere
Ask the Dust

Before the “Eleanor Rigby” part, Michael played “Thunderball”, the James Bond theme. Cool.

HTGT
Morning Sickness (Joie solo acoustic)

After the second or third song, Joie asked if it sounded like a goose over on his side of the stage. Didn’t know what he was talking about, but before “Morning Sickness” he said that he woke up with a 103 fever a few days ago and hence, sounded like a goose. I didn’t think so.

It’s All Mine
Feel Me
Posters
Moon

At some point somebody (beat me to it and) yelled, “I Get High!” to which Michael replied, “We haven’t played that song in nine years. Do want us to screw it all up?” I thought to myself, “Well, yeah.”

Mary
DKL

A minute or so after the guys left the stage, I saw some movement up front and to the left. A guy was climbing up on stage. At first I thought he was gonna grab a pick or the set list or something, but he started heading for the drum kit. Then I thought maybe it was part of the show and he was a special guest or something because he sat down and started playing. Phil walked on stage and went straight to his drums. I couldn’t read his lips, but the look on his face said, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Didn’t matter what the guy thought he was doing, because security promptly evicted him. Phil strapped on an acoustic guitar, stepped up to the mic and said, “That has never ever happened before.” He was truly shocked and amazed. To help him segue into his song, I shouted, “It’s cool, dude!” He mentioned one more time how crazy that was, then played the tune. Afterward, he took his spot behind the drums and Michael & Joie returned to the stage. I think the band and audience all realized at the same time that maybe that guy was Bob the Drummer. Which was the next song they played.

It’s Cool Dude
Bob
Dorina

Epilogue:
After the show I went downstairs to the merch table to get a Euphoria CD. There were quite a few people making purchases and it took a little while to complete my transaction. When I got back upstairs, the club was basically empty except for a small group of people at the front of the stage. I figured they were waiting for the band to come out, so I headed in their direction. As I was walking, the bouncer at the edge of the stage stepped aside and let the group through a side door. Me being me decided to blend in and follow them even though I had no idea where they were going. Well, of course I had some idea. We went down a flight of stairs around a couple corners and next thing I know, I’m in dada’s green room / dressing room. I felt totally out of place so I quickly asked Phil about sharing his drum kit, asked Joie what time his set is on Monday, and skeedaddled before anybody realized that I had no business being there.

[marty]

great post, jr. I especially related to the part about gene almost getting kicked. I was front and center at the shows I saw and there were a few times it seemed well within the realm of possibility that I'd get smacked in the head with a guitar or bass, or get my fingers stepped on during one of mike or joie's frequent jaunts to edge-of-the-stage land. it would have been entirely my fault, of course....even before I got old I didn't have the cat-like reflexes that gene has..lol.

[Edited on 11-29-2003 by marty]

[twangster]

Ditto on the post.
Excellent reading!
You've got a better memory than I go.

[liquidlife]

Gene,

Whats the story on that. You could elaborate?

Jrdada, sorry to have missed the Hollywood show.

[Arlo]

Excellent post jr....ever thought of writing for a living? I felt like I was right there experiencing it all with you.

[jrdada]

Hey Ed, Sorry to have missed you, too. But I expect to hear from you how tonight's show was.

Arlo, Yes I have thought about writing for a living. And I've thought of doing a bunch of other things I'm incapable of.

[BlubabyDC]

Thanks for that post JR. Now I'm officially excited for the coming week!

How long did they play?

[jrdada]

Hi Kim,
I'd say it was over 90 minutes, but less than two hours. Kinda your standard set length.
Have fun in AZ!
JR

[Arlo]

Quote

Originally posted by jrdada
Hey Ed, Sorry to have missed you, too.  But I expect to hear from you how tonight's show was.

Arlo, Yes I have thought about writing for a living.  And I've thought of doing a bunch of other things I'm incapable of.

so what's stop'n ya? I believe any guy who can make it to dada's green room without being detected is pretty capable of doing just about anything....surely it isn't that dead rabbit that's holding ya back.

[Curious Gene]

Quote

Originally posted by liquidlife
Gene,

Whats the story on that.  You could elaborate?

Oh, nothing special. Mike was doing his usual walkin' like a rock star thing, so there was a nice, slow kick that seemed to be heading for my face. So I moved aside. Call it a brush with greatness.
I don't think he was really watching the front row, though. He usually seems to be looking out into the crowd, so he probably didn't even notice I was there. Or it's some sort of hint. Hm.

What was the new song? First two verses of just drums, bass, and vocals. Mike didn't even have a guitar on. It rocked. Was that "It's all mine"?

And I got a drum stick after the show. Woohoo!

[DADAFAMILYDAV]

I was sitting next to mike when i saw you walk into the green room. You were indeed holding the Euphoria CD and i remember taking note of that. When my family read this post we laughed because we were "the group" that you followed downstairs. I just thought you were some manager or friend, but you did dissapear rather quickly. I liked the long hair!
I applaud the bold move, especially considering the size of those bouncers, and the way that they treated "Bob the Drummer".

[twangster]

From now on any shows we are at and JR is there, we follow him around all night.
Well not to the can though!! A couple of cans of Fosters will go right thru you.

[marty]

Quote

Originally posted by Curious Gene
What was the new song? First two verses of just drums, bass, and vocals. Mike didn't even have a guitar on. It rocked. Was that "It's all mine"?

you are correct, sir!

[michael perez]

the show was solid finally got to hear and see some bfj.it's all mine sounds very promising.dudes that drumer got in some playing time.curious gene it was cool talking to you-i did not make it to jack's in glendale,next time.i did make it to mr. calio's show and his final song played was
agents got no secret .i'll post over there
with more.