Nektar / Caravan

[Steady Stan]

Didn't know if I was going to even get to go until Wednesday. Got out of work at 10:30 that morning, drove the 450 miles to Little 5 Points, a funky / trendy section of Hotlanta, arrived there about 6 pm. Stopped in a Disc Golf store and ate at a great pub down the street. Doors opened at 7; I was able to sit in the first row of theater seats. Caravan came on promptly at 8 pm to roughly 200 people. They had a little bit of technical problems with the keyboard sound early, but sounded excellent over all. Actually came to a stop during the first minute of "Nine Feet Underground" while they fixed a gremlin. They played for about 1 hr 40 minutes. Great selection of songs. Geoff Richardson, the viola & woodwinds player, was excellent, as was keyboardist Jan Schelhaas (also has played with Camel). Pye Hastings' vocals were superb.

Nektar came on after a 30 minute break. It was a bit of a letdown finding out that their original keyboard player couldn't make the tour due to a sick wife. (At least his priorities are right.)Replacement keyboard player, while enthusiastic, was adequate at best. The guitarist, Roye Albrighton, is incredible. I never realized how much he contributed to their overall sound. Played a lot of older stuff, which sounded much better live than on cd. Light show was virtually non-existent, which was a bit of a disappointment, but it was still an excellent performance. They played for 2 hrs 10 min.

After the show, all 6 members of Caravan came out to the lobby, mingling & signing autographs. They really appreciated the response the crowd gave them.

So, even though it was a whirlwind 24 hrs, I was definitely thrilled that I went. I would say Caravan impressed me a bit more then Nektar, due to it being the full band, whereas Nektar, minus the regular keyboard player & light show was a small letdown. But, it was still extremely memorable. Wish you all could have joined me!