The Live Show 10-21-2003 | Amy's Eric Sardinas Concert Review

Review by AMY

See Live Pictures by AMY OEXMANN and MARK HALL

What can I say after seeing Eric Sardinas 13 times in less than a year and a half? You would think I would have a lot to say, however the ridiculously talented man still leaves me speechless. I can talk about what goes on before, during, or after the shows but when I'm trying to describe how I feel when Eric is playing I get all tongue-tied. I will try my best to put the whole experience into words, though.

I drove to St. Louis by myself to see Eric. It's a four hour drive from my house. It got quite boring through Illinois. I started thinking back to the first time I saw Eric play in Little Rock, Arkansas on May 9, 2002. I had gone to Arkansas for a well deserved vacation and to surprise my friend, Mike. So my roommate, her friend, and I went to the Eric Sardinas show at Cajun's Wharf. Needless to say, Mike was surprised and so was I when I heard Eric play. The man was on fire (well not literally, but his guitar was). After the show Eric went outside and he was standing by himself so I went to meet him. I just assumed he would be a snob because he's such an incredible guitar player. Boy was I wrong. He thanked me for coming about five times.

I never would have dreamed that night that a year and a half later I would go to one of his shows by myself. I got to St. Louis about 6:30 pm. I checked into the hotel then watched the Simpsons (DOH!). [Sidenote; the club that Eric plays in St. Louis, called Generations, is in a Holiday Inn....woohoo.] I walked down to the club at about 7:45. I got a seat up front and talked to a guy that was sitting close to me. He had gotten to the club at 4:30 in the afternoon! He had to wait outside the whole time so the band could do soundcheck, etc. He told me his friend had seen Eric play before and told him he HAD to see him. He said he was anxious to see him because he himself was a guitar player. I told him how many times I've seen Eric play. He looked at me like I was crazy. Then I said, "you just wait and see."

The band came out around 8:30 pm. The measly crowd of about 50 people cheered in anticipation. The band's threesome looked like big trouble as Mike and Paul dressed in their usual black attire and Eric wore black glitter flare pants with a black and red velvet floral print shirt. Now, even though the crowd was small that doesn't mean they couldn't make some noise. St. Louis is known for a good blues scene so they definitely appreciate it. During one of Eric's instrumentals a guy across from me stood up all the sudden and screamed, "YES!!!" In between songs people screamed, "I love you, Eric" or "you rule, Eric". Things got crazier after Eric exclaimed that was the end of the "dinner set". I saw quite a few people singing along to the songs, then one woman dancing on her chair. Dupke (Mike) would like her, as he always climbs onto his drumstool at the beginning of "Get Along Rider" and claps really big to get the audience pumped. This time he bent over a little to far to look at me around Paul and smile. I swear one of these days that boy is gonna fall. Paul and Eric after each song would thank the audience for coming. When the person screamed, "I love you, Eric" he smiled real big.

During their break the guy I had talked to before the show came over to me and said, "WOW!!!" I said, "now you know why I go to so many shows." He nodded his head, said how amazed he was and went on to tell me about all of this guitar mumbo jumbo I don't know anything about. In the end he said, "Nobody plays like him...NOBODY!" The band members signed autographs during their break, as they do every time. The girl that had been dancing on her chair earlier had them sign her butt. I saw a guy bring his guitar in for them to sign as well. I stayed in my seat to leave the time with the band for the first-timers.

As their second set started most everyone was up front dancing. They played my favorite song off "Black Pearls" called "Flames of Love". Paul did a short, but very worthy bass solo. Paul is an excellent bassist. Then Mike did a solo too. If you've never seen him play just picture the human version of Animal from the Muppets. He's very, very energetic. He's crazy, but he's definitely one of the best drummers I've seen. (It's no wonder...He was taught by drum extraordinaire, Kenny Aronoff.)

And then there's Eric, what can I say about him? I thought about what I can say while watching him play knowing Tammy would want me to write about it later. Two words came to mind; sensory overload! It's too much to handle. Pure ecstasy I tell ya! I don't think there is any other place I'd rather be. Well, maybe except in Hawaii seeing him;) I think the best thing about seeing Eric is seeing how much he gets into the music and knowing there is no other place he'd rather be as well. I think Eric will go far, knowing he truly appreciates his fans.

After the show I went to talk to the band. It is definitely not a surprise to see me at the shows anymore. It is more of a surprise to not see me. I'm almost like one of the guys now. They're so used to me that Eric casually walked past me and just said, "hey" very nonchalantly. I only said about two sentences to him the whole time. I still have a hard time talking to him even though I've seen him so many times. For me he's very hard to talk to. Don't get me wrong, he's very nice. It's just that we're both very shy. Paul and Mike are super nice as well. After they finished loading up, we said our goodbyes, then I went back up to my hotel room. It took a long time for me to get to sleep. I had to wind down from all the excitement. It'll be a while before I see him again, but in the meantime I have the cds. For the people who live in Germany, lucky lucky you!!!!! Get ready to rock!

In closing, I wish Eric all the success in the world. I'm very proud to be his fan. ( I don't exactly know how someone becomes proud to be a fan of someone, but I am. Does anyone else feel this way.) And the next time he comes to your town, call all of your friends and get your butt to his show! Don't even make excuses because life is too short to pass this opportunity up.