NEW MONSOON May 19 2005 - Vancouver, BC - Richards on Richards

[StoneMtn]

Appropriately enough, considering their name, beneath lightning-filled skies from which poured torrential rain, New Monsoon rocked Richards on Richards with a jammy hootenanny that sounded as though they were playing to a crowd of tens of thousands…

We were a small, but determined group at Richards on Richards on Thursday night. Although at a bigger venue than their last visit, this time New Monsoon played on a stormy weeknight, rather than a clear weekend, and I suspect that is the main reason for the less-than-impressive turnout. It looked as though more people came out for the “little” Media Club show (where the building was bursting at its seams) than this “big” Richards show.

That being said, this small crowd could have held its own with any crowd at Madison Square Gardens.

It took some time to warm up, but by the end of first set, most of the crowd was on its feet and on the floor. We also had the luxury of plenty of boogy-room for this one, which is a resource that is usually in far too short supply at these gigs.

Although both sets were good and fun (and bearing in mind that I was late for first set) it’s my opinion that second set was tighter and higher energy than the first. By the time the band launched into “Cisco Kid”, there were definitely more people shaking their booties than on the sidelines playing the role of spectator. I think it took some of the crowd a couple of minutes to catch on, but as soon as everyone recognized “Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” you could see the energy pick up and the crowd started hitting new heights; bouncing, smiling, “whooping”...

The highlight, for me, was definitely “Elizabeth Reed”. Although I had been hoping for a “Velvet Pouch”, and by the time the encore came I was really hoping that is what they would play, classic Allmans is nothing to turn your nose up at, and that jam definitely had me dancing my ass off and hitting moments of musical bliss as yet unattained at this show. I think the band enjoyed it too, and I caught Jeff Miller’s eye a couple of times making his face look like that of a kid on a roller coaster. Perfect ending to a great show.

The other notable song from this show, of course, was “Same Sun”; which is a Phil Ferlino song that New Monsoon played for the very first time for us!

The notable, unfortunate part of this show (similar to their last performance in town) was the absence of the band’s drummer / didgeridoo-player-extraordinaire from British Columbia, Marty Ylitalo. I am not quite sure why, but for some reason (that I believe originates with our immigration and cross-border employment laws) this Canuck just can’t come and play in Canada and we have missed him both times. Maybe next time Marty?

As usual, Deke and Yani came through for us; and despite Deke’s protests, I am going to thank Upstream Entertainment, yet again, for getting me off my ass and into a mind-blowing show for yet another jammy experience not soon to be forgotten!

SETLIST:

Set I:

Sweet Brandywine

African Rain

Clinging

Blue Queen

219

Wagontrain

Downstream

Daddy Long Legs

Set II:

Double Clutch

Cisco Kid

Bo's Blues

Same Sun*

Bridge Of The Gods

Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (Traffic)

Drive Wheel

E:

In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (Allman Bros. Band)

* 1st time played (Phil song)

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