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Review by BECKY
See BECKY's Live Pictures
The Devil Came Down to Dickson
Well, here it is folks, and pictures will follow as soon as we finish shooting out the roll. I'm a picky picture-taker but hopefully it'll be well worth the wait.
Where do I begin? At the beginning of course! Firstly, Tammy, when it comes to music I don't think I'll ever doubt you again.
I was worried at first since the concert date fell a week and a half before my 21st birthday and I'd never done much visiting to the club row known as Dickson Street. Things went more smoothly than I'd expected in that respect. We (my mother and I) were the first ones in when the doors opened at 8. Since I had my camera with me I grabbed a table for us up front. We paid the cover charge, I cost extra since I couldn't drink, and got carded obviously but not thrown out. Just marked so I couldn't order at the bar. Mom and I were chatting when Himself walked through the gate leading into the patio at George's. He had me absolutely shell-shocked. The pictures were good but the real thing was even better.
The show started at 9 and I was just blown away. The man plays slide guitar like he's devil-gifted; he's that fuckin' good. I could never in my wildest dreams match the skill and prowess Eric showed on that stage. His method is rather unorthodox but that made it even more fun to watch. Mom pointed out his capos on the upper frets, she called them "cheaters", but I took note for my own nefarious purposes, lol. I wish I could provide you a set list but I'm still that new that I can't name off all the songs yet. I do remember that he did a Robert Johnson cover, voice and all, that had my short-hairs prickling. I haven't had a chance to pick up a copy of his album yet, but I sure as hell will now. He's got just the right blend of blues with a tinge of rock and roll that'd make any poor girl fall to pieces. He even switched his guitar over to the acoustic a couple of times during the night, a rather big risk when ya gotta please the crowd to keep its interest, and sang one song without the mike and we could still hear him. I love his voice, it goes well with the growling blues he churns out. Gawds, that hellacious guitar, that rumbling bass, those mighty drums, all played to near perfection by three exquisite men.
Anyhoo, they finished their first set, which was 2 hours long, and took a break. It was at this point that I summoned what courage I had to meet Mr. Sardinas. Camera around my wrist and pen and paper (instead of album) in my hand, I got in the almost non-existent line. I approached him and was virtually shaking in my platforms. I was star struck. I introduced myself and told him I'd heard about him thanks to some friends of mine and that they'd insisted that I check him out. Everybody's names escaped me at the moment and I apologize a thousand times for that. I handed him the paper to sign and he did with his silver sharpie and gave me a hug, the only hug he gave anyone all night according to my mom who was standing back at the table watching us.
Pictures were next and I was almost going to do the honors myself when Eric suggested having someone else take it. I remembered my mom standing guard over our purses and motioned for her to come over. After she told Eric how much she was enjoying the show, she stepped back to take the picture. He put his arm around me and held me close, we'll see how close if the picture turns out. While we were waiting for her to press the button I felt him gently stroking my back. Don't know if he was trying to soothe my nerves or set them further on fire, but it worked both ways. He is an absolute sweetie and rather shy which is probably part of why I was flustered since I tend to be shy, too. We parted ways, him to talk to other fans and I returned to the table with mom and gushed about my experience. While we were sitting and right before the last set started, Paul came over and shook hands with mom and I. He also commented on my outfit which I'll send pictures of, as well as The Money Shot (Hint: I'm calling it my "Four Roses" outfit).
The second set was even better than the first. Every song was a rough-and-tumble, meaty blues that had almost the whole place on their feet dancing or just keeping the beat. Both Mike and Paul did solos during the second set, but Mike's was the funnest to watch. I remember glancing at mom and saying he was having way too much fun up there, and we laughed and enjoyed watching him beat those drums into submission. Mom said as we were leaving that she should have talked to Mike and asked him if he had any arm left after hitting the kit so hard.
Eric disappeared during the solo, and we all know how dangerous that is, lol. When he came back, his shirt was gone and my jaw hit the floor. He blasted through the last of the set like a man possessed. I watched him do the beer bottle slide, but I think it broke one of his strings, still majorly cool. And he came down into the audience dancing and wailing away on his guitar. There was one point where he was almost an arm's length away from me. I almost passed out right then but kept enough of my wits about me to snap a picture or two, god-willing.
When the show was over I lingered to speak to Eric one last time, to make up for the flustered incident during the break. I thanked him for the concert, for his music and told him what had failed to come to my lips earlier because of nerves... That I was learning to play guitar too, especially slide. This made his face light up like a roman candle on the Fourth of July. He leaned in close and told me thanks for coming, that he really appreciated it, and good luck with the music. Those last few words will last me a lifetime.
These three guys are some of the most wonderful people and musicians I've ever had the good fortune to run across. Eric and Co. are second only to the great ones enshrined in Cleveland to me now, and I'm seriously considering recommending him to Mr. Obscenie [Tom Hamilton, Aerosmith] as an opener for the Aeroblues tour whenever it comes about.
To quote The Perry [Joe Perry, Aerosmith] himself, "I hate it when [s]he's right."
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