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Three guys walk onto a stage ...
Mar. 18th, 2025 02:02 pmGenerally speaking, if Mike Allen or John Gillespie tell me I should really see a band, I listen to them. When two of the three people you've seen once before, and the obvious - none of us is getting any younger - smacks you in the face, you do what you can to be there to witness this alignment of literal stars.
This constellation of greatness took place at the Wake Forest Listening Room in front of a sold out crowd made up of mostly life-long fans.
The show opened with Don Dixon walking onto stage, picking up his guitar, and wowing us with vocal and acoustic guitar prowess. I apologize now, as the phrase "and the crowd went wild" will be wildly overused throughout the rest of this review, because, frankly, the assembled fanboys and fangirls did just that.
After Dixon's first song, he invited Murray Attaway to the stage, and sat down to allow Murray the stage. At last, Peter Holsapple came on stage and rounded out the trio of greatness, and the crowd went wild.
For the next ninety minutes, we went forward and backwards in time while the three greats took turns singing from their vast catalog of well-known tunes and upcoming releases. Both Attaway and Holsapple have new music coming out, and were sure to plug their merch. The three traded quips and clips and misheard lyrics ("Kittens with nine lives"? I thought you were saying "kittens with no eyes"!!), and in general caught up with one another. Attaway and Holsapple hadn't seen each other in many years, while both had been working with Dixon on their new albums. The affection and admiration the three have for one another was apparent, and the room was aglow with it.
As the clock inched towards 10pm, Dixon confirmed they had time for one last song, then while the other two stayed seated and prepared to play, he got up and futzed around with his guitar, trying to get it out of the way and dig behind the amps for something. As Murray and Peter began singing the opening lines "Love, love, love, love ..." Don appeared with a trombone in hand, and, say it with me folks, THE CROWD WENT WILD!!!! Before the end of the first verse, the assembled fans were on their feet and had joined in, and it was a 1960s love-fest right there in downtown Wake Forest. I was torn between tears of gratitude, and wondering if or when Don would take out a piece of stage equipment with the trombone's slide tube (he didn't).
Typical WFLR shows clear out pretty quickly, but not this show. Peter and Murray made their way to the merch table, while Don stayed "back stage". I hung out to talk to Don, passing on a greeting from his friend Jeffrey Dean Foster who I'd talked with that morning on the drive in. I then went to chat with Peter, who thanked me profusely for my gift of baked goods.
And just like that, as the crowd dispersed, I made my way into the night, thanking my lucky stars for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
-----
Trip #3, Concert #5
This constellation of greatness took place at the Wake Forest Listening Room in front of a sold out crowd made up of mostly life-long fans.
The show opened with Don Dixon walking onto stage, picking up his guitar, and wowing us with vocal and acoustic guitar prowess. I apologize now, as the phrase "and the crowd went wild" will be wildly overused throughout the rest of this review, because, frankly, the assembled fanboys and fangirls did just that.
After Dixon's first song, he invited Murray Attaway to the stage, and sat down to allow Murray the stage. At last, Peter Holsapple came on stage and rounded out the trio of greatness, and the crowd went wild.
For the next ninety minutes, we went forward and backwards in time while the three greats took turns singing from their vast catalog of well-known tunes and upcoming releases. Both Attaway and Holsapple have new music coming out, and were sure to plug their merch. The three traded quips and clips and misheard lyrics ("Kittens with nine lives"? I thought you were saying "kittens with no eyes"!!), and in general caught up with one another. Attaway and Holsapple hadn't seen each other in many years, while both had been working with Dixon on their new albums. The affection and admiration the three have for one another was apparent, and the room was aglow with it.
As the clock inched towards 10pm, Dixon confirmed they had time for one last song, then while the other two stayed seated and prepared to play, he got up and futzed around with his guitar, trying to get it out of the way and dig behind the amps for something. As Murray and Peter began singing the opening lines "Love, love, love, love ..." Don appeared with a trombone in hand, and, say it with me folks, THE CROWD WENT WILD!!!! Before the end of the first verse, the assembled fans were on their feet and had joined in, and it was a 1960s love-fest right there in downtown Wake Forest. I was torn between tears of gratitude, and wondering if or when Don would take out a piece of stage equipment with the trombone's slide tube (he didn't).
Typical WFLR shows clear out pretty quickly, but not this show. Peter and Murray made their way to the merch table, while Don stayed "back stage". I hung out to talk to Don, passing on a greeting from his friend Jeffrey Dean Foster who I'd talked with that morning on the drive in. I then went to chat with Peter, who thanked me profusely for my gift of baked goods.
And just like that, as the crowd dispersed, I made my way into the night, thanking my lucky stars for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
-----
Trip #3, Concert #5
