From: Dave Wolfe
Date: Saturday, July 29, 2000

Morning all,

Well, I was waiting for Steph to post on the concert we went to on Friday night (she has a set list....I don't), but I'll chip in my ten cents worth now. WOW!!!!!!

Phil played Saturday night at a nightclub in downtown Denver called 'the Soiled Dove'. It is a small venue, holding probably 300 at the most, 1 block from Coors Field. We (Steph, my wife Michelle and I) got there 1 hour before the doors opened and ended up about 5th in line. When the doors opened, we ended up at a small table about 5 feet from the stage....close enough to kick the monitor cable out!!

The opening act was local guitar wiz Dave Beegle. He played with his acoustic band, which for that night was Dave, bassist Mike Olson(inhuman Bass player), and rhythm guitarist/vocalist Keith Rosenhagen. Dave played several songs from his acoustic CD he released at the end of last year. His first couple of numbers were flamenco pieces he had written and were awesome. Two songs into the set and the crowd was already blown away. Highlights from Dave's set included a new song called 'Sandy's Painting', which was written for his wife (who is a painter), and played on Phil's Olson(which Dave has had for about a year - Phil is such a great guy!!). Dave's band played for about 45 min(too short) and they reset the stage for Phil.

BTW .... you can order Dave Beegles CD's (highly recommended) at www.davebeegle.com. Dave is an awesome guitarist and a great guy. I was talking to one of Dave's oldest friends last night(sunday night), and he told me that in the past couple of years(especially the last year) Phil has had a huge impact on Dave's spiritual life. Dave has been a Christian for quite a while, but apparently he is really on fire for God right now, and that is just great!!

At about 10:00, Phil and company hit the stage. Phil was quite casually dressed(shorts and black shirt)....and NO beret!! Of course, both of Phils band mates had shaved heads, so Phil was the only one with ANY hair. But I digress....they opened with 'Tell Me How You Feel', with an extended jam on the end (which was the rule of the evening). Second song(I think) was John the Rev. Halfway though the end solo, Phil broke a string on his Parker Fly. Having no guitar tech, Phil asked if anyone knew how to change strings...a guy in front of Phil said he did...so Phil handed him the Parker, then asked "Do you have any strings??". Phil didn't have any spares with him. Phil was forced to play the Zion for the next half hour while someone went out and got a new set of strings(.09 E string). Phil finally got the Parker back and played it most of the night.

There are too many highlights from the evening to name then all. Phil was in a great mood, and just wanted to jam all night....AND DID. Phil and band played for 3 hours.....no breaks!!! Phil exhausted his bands set list, and they flew off on lots of tangents. Among the highlights...a jamming versions of the Yardbirds 'Green Onions'. This was a really hot version! After the song, Pil asked the crowd 'Anyone taping this?? I hope so...that was a great song".

Other high points....Madelines Song (why oh why wasn't I taping???). A ten minuete I-IV-V blues jam. LOTS of jamming period. Phil was having a blast and played tons of signature licks. What else....oh yah...'What a Day'(the band didn't know this one, but Phil yelled out the chords once he got to the final choruses). A couple of solo Beatle numbers. At about 12:30, Phil asked Dave Beegle to come and jam with them. First number was a impromptu jam of some weird chord progression Phil threw out. Kind of a fusion thing. With an extended jam(of course). Then Phil launched into 'Sounds'. This was a real high point for me since I have never heard Phil do 'Sounds' live!! Plus...Dave Beegle knew all of the strange chords, and Dave has Phil's playing style down cold. Half way through the song Phil pulls out the E-Bow and goes into a great solo. Then Dave pulls out HIS E-Bow and they are doing dueling E-Bow solos. This was awesome. This is what making music and playing with folks is all about. they then started into a jam based loosly around 'Amazing Grace'. It was about 12:50 by now, and we had to leave since I had a 14 year old watching my kids and we were way later than I had planned on being out. Besides, they had to stop at 1:00, so we only missed 10 minuetes.

All in all, this was my favorite Phil concert ever. Phil was loose, making mistakes(boffed the intro to Strong Tower anout 4 times), and really seemed to be having a blast!! This was a rare chance to see Phil in a venue this size. and throw Dave Beegle into the mix, and it was a very special evening. I'd really love to hear what Phil thought of the show(Robin, Neal????).

One last thing......they were LOUD!! We were sitting about 15 feet away from Phils amps, and they were pointed right at us!! I had to play in church the next morning, and my ears were shot(monitors, I don't hear any monitors!!).

Dave Wolfe

Page Last Updated: September 29, 2001