Don Dixon –Evening Muse 03/02/2014
If you missed this one, just go ahead and kick yourself! This was the best solo Dixon show that I’ve seen in several
years. No JumpRabbits. No Marti. No
Coastal Cohorts. Just Dixon doing what Dixon does best. I have
to admit that I was a bit worried. This was his 4th show in the same
number of days. Would the great Dixon voice be up to the
challenge? Oh yes it was! Better than
ever!
The show opened with a cover of The Beatles’ “You’ve Got To
Hide Your Love Away”. I have NEVER heard
Dixon do a
Beatles cover. It was a great way to
open the show and kicked off what some thought was going to be a theme for the
show. Before launching into the second
song Don quipped that this was a Don Dixon does covers show; next up being “Amplifier”
which was written by Peter Holsapple and originally recorded by the legendary
Triad group The dB’s. Of course, Dixon and the JumpRabbits
included it on their CD “The Nu-look”. This stripped down acoustic version held
up quite well in comparison.
Not to worry; there were no more covers. The rest of the
evening was filled with songs that are Dixon
standards and many more that I had never heard performed live. Six were from the most recent CD High &
Filthy & Borderline. Who knew
that the background story of this CD was one containing two assassins? Part of the charm of a Dixon show are the stories that he always
shares. I always come away feeling like I know him and his songs just a wee bit
better. I must say though that the assassin story was a bit of a stretch to
me. I will have to go back and listen to
the CD again with it in mind.
The show ended after 18 masterful performances with the ever
emotional and ever intense “I Can Hear the River”. Dixon
always puts his heart and soul into this song holding nothing back. Tonight was no different. He was “spent” and
deserved his standing O.
Set List and a few comments
- You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away- Beatles Cover from the album Help. The movie of the same name was the second Beatle movie but the first in color for the group.
- Amplifier- see review above
- Then I Woke up – The Invisible Man
- In a Politician’s Bed – The Entire Combustible World in One Small Room
- The Night That Otis Died - a favorite of mine from The Nu-Look
- The Bells of Compassion – High & Filthy & Borderline
- Torpedo Road - High & Filthy & Borderline
- Love is All Attitude - High & Filthy & Borderline
- Secret Room – The Entire Combustible World
- Giving Up the Ghost – Romantic Depressive
- In Darkness Found – The Entire Combustible World
- Seraphina - High & Filthy & Borderline
- A Promise On the Sole of My Shoe- High & Filthy & Borderline
- My Felon Girlfriend- High & Filthy & Borderline
- Renaissance Eyes- live versions are on the If I’m a Ham, Well You’re a Sausage and the Chi-town Budget Show CDs
- If I
Could Walk Away – written for Bonnie Raitt who did not record it but his
wife Marti Jones did!
- I Should Know Better- Romantic Depressive
- I Can Hear The River - EEE
