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Dick Dale in Iowa City, 12 May 2005
I didn't know who the opening band was, and to be honest, I didn't
care. I arrived right at 9:00 and as I headed upstairs I heard the
first song start. Wait a minute, I hear glissandos and a surf beat!
That can't be Dick, not so soon, and the surf beat is taboo with him.
No, it was the opening band, The One Night Standards, from Davenport,
Iowa. I had never heard of them, but soon I was smiling a broad smile
and nodding my head along to their instrumental tunes. They are a
trio, and I guess you could describe them as one of those "hopped-up
psychobilly/surfy/punk type of bands". The guitar player had what I
thought was one of those Gretsch hollow body guitars, but actually I
think it was a Cort. The band had a good groove and tremendous stage
presence. The guitar player had a nice reverby sound with some nice
dynamics in his playing. The bass player and drummer were very good as
well. The small crowd that had pushed up front was really digging
them. Their originals sounded great, and they also played Rumble along
with an Ennio Morricione song that I recognized but whose name escapes
me now. Their original songs had a good drive to them, and they had
several cool tricks up their sleeve like stopping Rumble right before
the first single note lead part so that simultaneously the guitar
player could light a cigarette, the drummer could stand up and comb
his hair, and the bass player could take a swig of beer. They then
quickly resumed the song while everyone in the crowd laughed. And I
give the guitar player props for playing the "scramble chorus" to
Rumble with a lit cigarette lighter as a slide. Ha-ha. They kind of
lost me when they did a bluesy type number, but it was still enjoyable
as the guitar player started a funny call and response with the
audience here. He eventually got over the blues and played the solo.
They closed with a high energy song that had the guitar player and
bass player fretting each other's guitars while strumming their own. I
was really surprised and impressed with these guys and look forward to
learning more about them.
Here is their website, listen to some of there songs:
Dick Dale finally started his set by playing off the stage, catching
everyone off guard and making everyone jump. This was the second time
I saw Dick, and tonight he was even better than the last time I saw
him 2 years ago. He had lost quite a bit of weight, and was really on
and into it the whole night. From the moment he dramatically strolls
on the stage you can tell he's got the whole crowd in the palm of his
hand. He's got a unique magnetic charisma about him, it's hard to
describe unless you see it. Anyway, it was a standard Dick Dale show
that lots of others have described here in the past, but had lots of
improvisational moments. You could tell that Dick was just having a
blast playing with his powerhouse band, Sam from Slacktone et. al. on
bass, and the drummer, who I think his name is Dallas or Dillion or
something, I couldn't quite make it out. Anyway, as the people on this
list know, the drummer has some big shoes to fill (Dusty Watson's),
but he did a fantastic job. He was totally into it, as was Sam, and
they both were dynamos of activity and enthusiasm. Dick was very
thrilled playing with these guys and you could tell he was having a
lot of fun orchestrating them, giving them cues with lots of winks and
body language. Dick kept the chatter to a minimum and the show moved
along at a rapid pace. He did have one lengthy speech just before
Misirlou. He explained the whole Pulp Fiction / Quentin Tarantino
thing, the Nissan commercial, Dominos, etc, and then announced that
the Black Eyed Peas are using (sampling?) Misirlou in their latest
"song" Push-It (or something). He then launched into Misirlou,
punctuating each verse with a shout of "Push-It" and "Louder".
From a surf fan's perspective, the night was a little thin. He played
(or at least had medley's that included) Shake & Stomp, Surf Beat,
Pipeline, Misirlou (of course), Ghost Riders and Nitro. He did not
play The Wedge or Esperanza which kind of bummed me out. Still, he has
the tone, chops, and monsterous wall of Showmans. And it is a thrill
to watch him play with his crazy upside down guitar technique. He also
played several songs from his latest CD, including Belo Horizonte
(electric version).
And all of his usual "standards" were present, the Smoke on The Water
thing, Ring of Fire, Fever, Stand By Me (???), the whole Bo Diddley
play drums with the drummer, play Sam's bass with drum sticks, then
play the trumpet thing. The crowd was just totally into it. He could
do no wrong. Everyone was going nuts at every single moment!! At
several points he would end a song and say "I just made that shit up"
and Sam would yell "It's true". He keeps Sam and the drummer on their
toes alright. Maybe not as bad as Link Wray these days, but he keeps
it interesting for himself.
Dick also turns the ladies on, I've never figured that out, but that
was still in full effect. After Fever a young blond girl yells out
"YOU GIVE ME FEVER". To which Dick replied "Can you wait until after
the show?". He then went into a joking rant about how Sam and the
drummer get all the girls while he is doing the "meet and greet" thing
at the foot of the stage after the show. He said they "get all the
good ones, the frosting on the cake". At one point Sam gave a hug to a
girl in the audience and Dick said "see, this is what I am talking
about". Funny.
The show closed with his big production of Amazing Grace. I thought he
did a very nice job on this. It was very dramatic and moving, full of
his guitar fireworks. After the third or fourth false ending, I am
pretty sure I saw Sam mouth to Dick "I HAVE TO PEE", which caused Dick
to crack up big time and give Sam a few jabs in the chest. The song
finally ended and Sam raced off the stage. Ha-ha.
So in the end I am very glad I went. You aren't going to get a trad
surf show, but you do get "The Dick Dale" show and that can be quite
entertaining. And like I said, he was really having a blast and having
a great time playing with Sam and the drummer. Very cool!
BN
Excellent review BN! Did Dick play without reverb at any point?
Chris
--- In , "Brian Neal" <bgneal@g...>
wrote:
> Dick Dale in Iowa City, 12 May 2005
>
> I didn't know who the opening band was, and to be honest, I didn't
> care. I arrived right at 9:00 and as I headed upstairs I heard the
> first song start. Wait a minute, I hear glissandos and a surf beat!
> That can't be Dick, not so soon, and the surf beat is taboo with
him.
> No, it was the opening band, The One Night Standards, from
Davenport,
> Iowa. I had never heard of them, but soon I was smiling a broad
smile
> and nodding my head along to their instrumental tunes. They are a
> trio, and I guess you could describe them as one of those "hopped-
up
> psychobilly/surfy/punk type of bands". The guitar player had what I
> thought was one of those Gretsch hollow body guitars, but actually
I
> think it was a Cort. The band had a good groove and tremendous
stage
> presence. The guitar player had a nice reverby sound with some nice
> dynamics in his playing. The bass player and drummer were very
good as
> well. The small crowd that had pushed up front was really digging
> them. Their originals sounded great, and they also played Rumble
along
> with an Ennio Morricione song that I recognized but whose name
escapes
> me now. Their original songs had a good drive to them, and they had
> several cool tricks up their sleeve like stopping Rumble right
before
> the first single note lead part so that simultaneously the guitar
> player could light a cigarette, the drummer could stand up and comb
> his hair, and the bass player could take a swig of beer. They then
> quickly resumed the song while everyone in the crowd laughed. And I
> give the guitar player props for playing the "scramble chorus" to
> Rumble with a lit cigarette lighter as a slide. Ha-ha. They kind of
> lost me when they did a bluesy type number, but it was still
enjoyable
> as the guitar player started a funny call and response with the
> audience here. He eventually got over the blues and played the
solo.
> They closed with a high energy song that had the guitar player and
> bass player fretting each other's guitars while strumming their
own. I
> was really surprised and impressed with these guys and look
forward to
> learning more about them.
>
> Here is their website, listen to some of there songs:
>
>
> Dick Dale finally started his set by playing off the stage,
catching
> everyone off guard and making everyone jump. This was the second
time
> I saw Dick, and tonight he was even better than the last time I saw
> him 2 years ago. He had lost quite a bit of weight, and was really
on
> and into it the whole night. From the moment he dramatically
strolls
> on the stage you can tell he's got the whole crowd in the palm of
his
> hand. He's got a unique magnetic charisma about him, it's hard to
> describe unless you see it. Anyway, it was a standard Dick Dale
show
> that lots of others have described here in the past, but had lots
of
> improvisational moments. You could tell that Dick was just having a
> blast playing with his powerhouse band, Sam from Slacktone et. al.
on
> bass, and the drummer, who I think his name is Dallas or Dillion or
> something, I couldn't quite make it out. Anyway, as the people on
this
> list know, the drummer has some big shoes to fill (Dusty Watson's),
> but he did a fantastic job. He was totally into it, as was Sam, and
> they both were dynamos of activity and enthusiasm. Dick was very
> thrilled playing with these guys and you could tell he was having a
> lot of fun orchestrating them, giving them cues with lots of winks
and
> body language. Dick kept the chatter to a minimum and the show
moved
> along at a rapid pace. He did have one lengthy speech just before
> Misirlou. He explained the whole Pulp Fiction / Quentin Tarantino
> thing, the Nissan commercial, Dominos, etc, and then announced that
> the Black Eyed Peas are using (sampling?) Misirlou in their latest
> "song" Push-It (or something). He then launched into Misirlou,
> punctuating each verse with a shout of "Push-It" and "Louder".
>
> From a surf fan's perspective, the night was a little thin. He
played
> (or at least had medley's that included) Shake & Stomp, Surf Beat,
> Pipeline, Misirlou (of course), Ghost Riders and Nitro. He did not
> play The Wedge or Esperanza which kind of bummed me out. Still, he
has
> the tone, chops, and monsterous wall of Showmans. And it is a
thrill
> to watch him play with his crazy upside down guitar technique. He
also
> played several songs from his latest CD, including Belo Horizonte
> (electric version).
>
> And all of his usual "standards" were present, the Smoke on The
Water
> thing, Ring of Fire, Fever, Stand By Me (???), the whole Bo Diddley
> play drums with the drummer, play Sam's bass with drum sticks, then
> play the trumpet thing. The crowd was just totally into it. He
could
> do no wrong. Everyone was going nuts at every single moment!! At
> several points he would end a song and say "I just made that shit
up"
> and Sam would yell "It's true". He keeps Sam and the drummer on
their
> toes alright. Maybe not as bad as Link Wray these days, but he
keeps
> it interesting for himself.
>
> Dick also turns the ladies on, I've never figured that out, but
that
> was still in full effect. After Fever a young blond girl yells out
> "YOU GIVE ME FEVER". To which Dick replied "Can you wait until
after
> the show?". He then went into a joking rant about how Sam and the
> drummer get all the girls while he is doing the "meet and greet"
thing
> at the foot of the stage after the show. He said they "get all the
> good ones, the frosting on the cake". At one point Sam gave a hug
to a
> girl in the audience and Dick said "see, this is what I am talking
> about". Funny.
>
> The show closed with his big production of Amazing Grace. I
thought he
> did a very nice job on this. It was very dramatic and moving, full
of
> his guitar fireworks. After the third or fourth false ending, I am
> pretty sure I saw Sam mouth to Dick "I HAVE TO PEE", which caused
Dick
> to crack up big time and give Sam a few jabs in the chest. The song
> finally ended and Sam raced off the stage. Ha-ha.
>
> So in the end I am very glad I went. You aren't going to get a trad
> surf show, but you do get "The Dick Dale" show and that can be
quite
> entertaining. And like I said, he was really having a blast and
having
> a great time playing with Sam and the drummer. Very cool!
>
> BN
--- In , "Chris" <chris@b...> wrote:
> Excellent review BN! Did Dick play without reverb at any point?
>
> Chris
You know, I think he did during one song.....but it's hard to say for
sure.
BN
Yeah, but imagine how good it could have been if he only played his
60's surf instros, had a trad sounding backing band and no ponytail! :-)
--- In , "Brian Neal" <bgneal@g...> wrote:
> So in the end I am very glad I went. You aren't going to get a trad
> surf show, but you do get "The Dick Dale" show and that can be quite
> entertaining. And like I said, he was really having a blast and having
> a great time playing with Sam and the drummer. Very cool!
I have to agree that would it be cool if Dick did like he did in the old days.
We can also imagine how great it would be if Paul Johnson got back all the
original Bel Airs, the Shadows stayed together and came to the States, The
Ventures toured playing the "In Space" and "Batman" albums, the original
Fireballs got back together, Link Wray had a picture of Dorian Grey and stayed
young, Dick Dale still had his pomp...Why can't these guys stay stuck in the
past where they belong?!
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: Klas Fjellgren
To:
Sent: Friday, May 13, 2005 2:25 PM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: Dick Dale in Iowa City May 12 2005 (Long)
Yeah, but imagine how good it could have been if he only played his
60's surf instros, had a trad sounding backing band and no ponytail! :-)
--- In , "Brian Neal" <bgneal@g...> wrote:
> So in the end I am very glad I went. You aren't going to get a trad
> surf show, but you do get "The Dick Dale" show and that can be quite
> entertaining. And like I said, he was really having a blast and having
> a great time playing with Sam and the drummer. Very cool!
.
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Right on Marty! Of course Dick Dale (and others) should do whatever
they want to do but I think he should be aware that many people would
prefer him performing his "crappy" Capitol recordings instead
of "Smoke On The Water" (unbelieveable...) and the likes.
I've seen him perform live 3 times during the last 10 years and it
got worse every time. I will not go a 4th time unless there will be
some major drastical changes.
Klas / The Surfites
--- In , "Marty Tippens"
<mctippens@e...> wrote:
> I have to agree that would it be cool if Dick did like he did in
the old days. We can also imagine how great it would be if Paul
Johnson got back all the original Bel Airs, the Shadows stayed
together and came to the States, The Ventures toured playing the "In
Space" and "Batman" albums, the original Fireballs got back together,
Link Wray had a picture of Dorian Grey and stayed young, Dick Dale
still had his pomp...Why can't these guys stay stuck in the past
where they belong?!
> -Marty
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Klas Fjellgren
> To:
> Sent: Friday, May 13, 2005 2:25 PM
> Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: Dick Dale in Iowa City May 12 2005
(Long)
>
> Yeah, but imagine how good it could have been if he only played
his
> 60's surf instros, had a trad sounding backing band and no
ponytail! :-)
>
>
> --- In , "Brian Neal" <bgneal@g...>
wrote:
>
> > So in the end I am very glad I went. You aren't going to get a
trad
> > surf show, but you do get "The Dick Dale" show and that can be
quite
> > entertaining. And like I said, he was really having a blast and
having
> > a great time playing with Sam and the drummer. Very cool!
>
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived
messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
>
>
> b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>
>
> c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
Service.
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
--- In , "Klas Fjellgren" <surfites@b...>
wrote:
> Right on Marty! Of course Dick Dale (and others) should do whatever
> they want to do but I think he should be aware that many people would
> prefer him performing his "crappy" Capitol recordings instead
> of "Smoke On The Water" (unbelieveable...) and the likes.
I feel like you do, Klas. Of course I would like to see more of the
"classic surf" side of Mr. Dale. But I don't think he thinks he can
make a living at that. And believe me, the crowd I was in thought he
could do no wrong. They totally ate up all that crap, the Smoke on the
Water, Fever, etc. They loved it.
It makes you wonder if he actually did play The Victor live at any
point in his career. If we time travelled back to the Rendezvous
Ballroom, was he doing Fever back then too? I wish we had a setlist
from one of those shows.
BN
-Brian,
I thought I saw as close as possible to a trad. back up band for DD.
When Ron joined them (on rhythm guitar)on stage at the Jim Pash
bennifit.
As for the Victor(one of my Favorite DD songs)
I yelled for him to play it 3 years ago. At the Pitcher House
gig with Insect Surfers and Torquays. And he did a pretty good version
of it.I was stoked!! The next year when he played there again, with
CHUM and Surf Report. I asked him to do it, and he butchered it to
pieces. I won't ask him to play it anymore.If I do happen to see him
play in the future.
Jeff(bigtikidude)
> I feel like you do, Klas. Of course I would like to see more of the
> "classic surf" side of Mr. Dale. But I don't think he thinks he can
> make a living at that. And believe me, the crowd I was in thought he
> could do no wrong. They totally ate up all that crap, the Smoke on the
> Water, Fever, etc. They loved it.
>
> It makes you wonder if he actually did play The Victor live at any
> point in his career. If we time travelled back to the Rendezvous
> Ballroom, was he doing Fever back then too? I wish we had a setlist
> from one of those shows.
>
> BN
