AND NOW, THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION YOU'RE THINKING IF YOU WEREN'T THERE LAST NIGHT: SO HOW WAS JOHN WAITE?

Amazing! Sat three people back from the center of the stage directly in front of him all night!  (Thanks to promoter Don Wishon -for making that possible and for bringing this show through Texas.) From the opener "Rough & Tumble" to the nights encore closer "Every Time I Think of You", John Waite delivered the goods as only he can. I have the attention span these days of a gnat, but he kept me involved and enthralled all night.  And for those of you who are wondering, his voice is still THAT VOICE - in top form.

I was thrilled he did "Rough & Tumble", "Downtown", "Missing You" (which made me cry, as it always does, always thinking about the same person - sigh), "Isn't It Time", "If You Ever Get Lonely", "Head First", "Evil" ,  and "Every Time I Think of You". We would have been there all night if he's done all the songs I love by him (which, come to think of it, would have been fine by me), but the ones I missed most were "Midnight Rendezvous", "Change", "Turn and Walk Away", "Head Above The Water", "Run To Mexico, "Union Jack", "Anytime", "If Anybody Had A Heart"  and one of my all time favorite songs to sing-n-cry along to when I'm in the mood to have myself a little pity party " Darker Side of Town." Have to say I was especially surprised not to hear "Mr Wonderful" which he put a reworked version of on the new CD "Rough & Tumble".  Okay so I love a LOT of John Waite songs - but then I've been a fan since I first saw him with The Baby's on The Midnight Special in 1979 when I was all of the impressionable age of 15. And he just keeps putting out top notch stuff!

I've met him a couple of times before, briefly, in the 80's, but I have to say this time he was  exceptionally charming, warm, gracious, friendly, and down to earth. I was the last one in line to talk to him, and I watched him from afar interact with person after person - not just a handshake or an autograph - but hugs and smiles and thanks from him as well. Every single person. I'm suspicious sometimes when artists talk to me knowing I've got a radio show - that makes me "The Media" and sometimes they treat me different - a little more special. But everyone got the star treatment from John, which was really heartwarming to see.

I did chat with him for a while after the show. We talked about, what else?, The Blues (he told me he had just loaded the Howlin' Wolf box set into the player that morning). I gave him a little gift - a compilation CD of 20 of the best (IMHO) DFW Blueswomen and Bluesmen, along with notes about each of them. He seemed really excited by it and told me they were going to listen to it on the way to Austin. Then his bass player walked by and asked what it was and said "Cool - something to listen to on the bus!". So I'm thinkin' that's what happened. No better way to send those boys off on that beautiful ride between Dallas and Austin. Big Texas Blues indeed!

And today he posted in all caps on his Facebook page "WE LOVE TEXAS!!!!!!!!!!!!" And guess what John - Texas loves you!

There is a short review of last nights show at Poor David's Pub on John's site here: http://www.johnwaite.nl/pages/sub/76066/Poor_Davids_Pub_Dallas_May_8th.html with some fabulous pictures and video of a few of the nights songs.

But my favorite picture of all? Would have to be this one:

Ah yes, sometimes it's VERY VERY VERY good to be Blue Lisa!

So John Waite's been loose in Dallas since yesterday.....

I'm going to find it VERY hard to sleep tonight.

BUT

Show tomorrow night!!!!

SABC (Suprising Amount of Blues Content) - John Waite @ Poor David's Pub Tuesday, May 8th

A while back I received one of Poor David's emails. Close to the bottom there was a simple listing for an upcoming show: May 8 - John Waite.

I immediately replied to David: John Waite? The Baby's John Waite?  And he replied back yes! How cool is that. Poor David's Pub is one of my all time favorite live music rooms because people actually go there to LISTEN to the music. (Why do you think we have the KNON Dallas Blues Fest there?) Imagine - a live music room where people actually come to listen to the music. Wonder if that will catch on...

Anyway - this news was cool and kind of spooky to me because I've been on a John Waite kick solid for about a year now. I was always a fan, from the very first time I saw him with The Baby's on The Midnight Special. (And I once kissed him at the old Dallas Hard Rock Cafe - a moment in history I'm sure he doesn't remember, but I'LL never forget ;>) No particular reason -  just one of those musical grooves I get into from time to time where I suddenly found myself listening an artists stuff repeatedly night and day. He has a beautiful voice, yes, but his real talent lies as a lyricist. Not usually happy-happy joy-joy kind of songs, which is fine by me - happy-happy joy-joy makes me want to strangle someone. I like songs about real life - where things go wrong and where you don't always learn your lesson the first time - like The Blues. And those are the kinds of songs John writes best. So I can relate to his lyrics - the same way I relate to so many Blues songs.

Those of you who are long time listeners to my radio show know how I love to find the blues in all kinds of music. Sometimes it's easy - there's a LOT of blues based Rock out there, but there's Blues in Country, Jazz, Rockabilly, Punk - you get the picture. But could I find the Blues in John Waite? Was there Blues in John? I was delighted to find the answer is yes, and thrilled that there is more than even I expected!

There are signs of Blues influences all over his excellent solo projects - covers of "Sweet Rhode Island Red" on his newest release, "Rough & Tumble", "Ain't No Sunshine" on "Temple Bar" and a killer version of "Highway 61 Revisited" on "Downtown - Journey of a Heart". But where did it come from - what are John Waite's Blues roots?

Then I found the link I was looking for in a story about his first ever gig at age 17 entitled "Spring Twist". You can read the entire story at http://johnwaite.nl/pages/sub/60855/John_Waite_s_first_Gig_ever_.html but here are some of the passages that nailed it for me:

On the 12th of March 1971,.... John made his first public appearance. It was at The Royal King's Arms, Lancaster. He was seventeen and playing bass and singing in the hastily cobbled together Chalk Farm.....We worked out ‘Hey Joe' and ‘Red House' by Hendrix; ‘I Hear You Calling', Ten Years After, ‘Night Life', B. B. King and various twelve-bars including ‘Dust My Broom' and ‘Mean Mistreated Man' by Elmore James. Of all the numbers that we were to play at that dance, ‘Dust My Broom' is the most evocative of John and the kind of music he was into at the time.....Eight-thirty, the room was packed and it was time to bite the bullet! The lights went down and I felt for John as we cracked off with ‘Rock Me Baby'. ......Nobody danced. Not that anybody ever does first thing. Most people need a few beers before they feel like boogying. As we finished ‘Rock Me' the audience clapped and all eyes were expectantly on John. Counting John and Derek in on four, I took a deep breath and launched into the opening triplet chords of ‘Dust My Broom'. What happened next amazed me! Within seconds, the whole room seem to be on its feet. Those who weren't dancing were stood in a circle round John watching every move as he sang and played his heart out.

So yes, Mr Waite's very first gig was a Blues gig!  It seemed obvious to me from the mood of the songs he writes that he must have been bitten by the Blues sometime, but this little tale told me it was from the very beginning. If you dig deep enough, you can find The Blues in ALL great music!

Not sure what he'll play Tuesday night - will there be a blues tune or two?  Don't know, but I'll sure be there to find out. Who knows - maybe I'll even kiss him again!

You can too. (Be there I mean. It's up to you and him if you kiss him.) Here's the details:

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

JOHN WAITE -
Up Close & Personal
Doors at 7pm / Show at 8pm
Poor David's Pub
1313 South Lamar, Dallas, TX
(214) 565-1295
www.poordavidspub.com
Advance tickets at: http://johnwaitedallas2012.eventbrite.com/

Special thanks to promoter Don Wishon for setting this show up, for answering all my questions and for keeping me in the loop.