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Dick turned 66 on Sunday...still rockin', still a horn-dog. The show
at 32 Bleu, a small downtown venue, was very good. I think Dick liked
the intimate space, the acoustics were okay, and it was his birthday.
In the middle of the show, everyone sang "Happy Birthday," which had
to have felt good.
Dick was on-target with his 16th notes most of the night, his
improvisational skills were spot-on, and I don't think he's lost a
hop, skip or jump since his last appearance here two years ago. He
told me after the show that he really was having a good time...I think
that might have made the difference.
Anyway, he sang way too many songs for my taste. He trundled out a
couple of his more dubious hits...Peppermint Man (the singalong) and
King of the Surf Guitar. But the updated versions, sprinkled with
plenty of distortion, sounded much improved over the bubblegum style
of his 60s hits. Call me an infidel. The only song that seemed to fit
Dick's rather pedestrian voice was "Folsom Prison Blues," which of
course was preceded by a mild rambling about "knowing this guy before
he wore black." A friend, who was wearing a picture of Johnny Cash
flipping the camera the bird, reputedly at Folsom Prison, declared the
song "an abortion." But the rest of my friends, less enamored perhaps
of Johnny Cash, all enjoyed it. He also talked about Ridin' With the
King (Elvis, not B.B.), but otherwise held the name dropping and
rambling to a minimum throughout most of the night.
Dick also did his Unplugged best. A guitar player guy I met, Ed
Parnum, really enjoyed it. I did not. I think Dick's Spanish-style
acoustic work needed a little more precision, and I really hated the
tone of his steel-string guitar. Still, an acceptable change of pace.
Dick opened up big, playing "The New Victor" from the Tribal Thunder
album (I believe), and very soon was crankin' Miserlou. He also
covered Ghostriders in The Sky, which everyone seemed to enjoy,
including myself. A lot of the stuff from his new CD Social Distortion
was sub-par, compared to the stuff on Tribal Thunder and Unknown
Territory, although there was one song (don't ask me the title) that
had a really cool Middle Eastern/Lebanese groove ala Miserlou, but
much more complex, that was over-the-top.
As Dusty said before the show, "It's not really surf, but it's close."
That about sums it up. I came away suitably impressed with Dick. A
friend and I saw Eric Johnson at the same venue a couple of months
ago, and I asked which show she enjoyed more. "This one," she said.
"Eric Johnson was technically a lot better, but Dick Dale played to
the audience more." That summed it up well.
I'm (almost) outta here.
Gavin
P.S. I got to visit with Dusty...a really approachable guy. He said
he's still gigging with Slacktone and hinted at a few Agent Orange
gigs as a future possibility. But, as he noted, DD is a priority
because it pays the bills. It's kinda discouraging that a band as
great as Slacktone can't draw more than a few hundred to a show.
Still, Dusty encouraged me to put together my little ensemble. A
really great guy.
Dusty was chatting up this lovely young gal named Jessica, and I took
their picture. Look for that and another post in the photos section.
