Hey Funkers!

After reading Ralph's and J.R's reviews, I don't really feel qualified to give mine. BUT, I was there so maybe you would appreciate another view of the spectacular day we had in Traverse City...

Nancy and I arrived at the Leelanau Sands Casino which is a real pretty drive about 20 miles north of Traverse City nestled among the hardwoods and overlooking a section of Grand Traverse Bay which leads into Lake Michigan. So just getting there is a pleasure. Luckily the weather cooperated and the roads were fine.

After having our camera bags checked for bombs / paraphernalia / smuggled midgets / etc. we headed straight for BAR 3. There were only about 5 tables in the whole place and sitting at the last table was a couple wearing Red & White and a Funkengruven, so we headed that way. It was Ralph and Wanda. What a pleasure it was to meet these two. So genuinely open and friendly and full o'Funk! We shared some stories and they gave us a prelude to the concert as they had seen Friday's gig as well. You could tell by their smiles they were really looking forward to seeing IT AGAIN! Not long afterwards J.R. and Pam arrived. After intros the four of us decided to get something to eat. I felt bad leaving R&W at the table, but I knew other RK/CF'rs were on their way. Dinner was pretty good, but the company was better. J.R. and Pam are a very nice couple and have great stories to tell. I think Pam and I were both waiting for J.R.'s steak to start mooing. ;-)

Between the bar and the restaurant was a great back-lit poster of the new GFR lineup. I got a so-so shot of it and will be putting up a pics page soon. I'm sure Ralph can do more justice if he chooses to share any of his photographic prowesses. I guess he pretty much fell asleep during the concerts and only took 13 rolls of film!! ;-) So back to the bar and sure enough R&W were entertaining other RK/CF. We met John & Debbie and Jerry & Tammy. Jerry and Tammy had made the long drive up from Ohio. 400 and some miles! Good people and great GFR fans. I hope your roads were good going home too! John & Debbie are very nice people. Would like to have had more time to visit with these two. We left the casino about the same time, so we did share a little conversation at the end of the night. Very nice.

Back to the bar...when we got back, met people and mingled, Ralph hands us a couple of triangular stickers. On them was printed "Meet and Greet"! This was very exciting as we've never had the opportunity to meet the band. So, we had more things to look forward to. (THANK YOU RALPH & WANDA & DJ!) Then, just when you think things are perfect, it gets better. I see Ralph and Wanda's faces light up (more than usual, I mean) and turn to see Deanna

(sp?) Schacher coming at us with a huge beautiful smile on her face. She introduces herself, shakes all our hands and says, "Enjoy the show!". You know you're dealing with class people when a wife of a band member comes right to your table and treats you special! What a treat! And they just keep coming as the show's about to begin...

More to come...

Ok, on to the show. Nancy and I were escorted down to our seats, which just happened to be in the FRONT ROW!!!! I wore the Red and Blue tie-dyed Roadkill shirt which catches a lot of eyes and many people asked about it. So about 10 minutes of prep, getting the camera ready, ear plugs (which lasted through about 1/2 of the first song) and the lights went down and the curtain went up. I couldn't believe I was going to be this close to my all-time Favorite Band...

Right from the start, these guys WERE ON! You would swear they've always been together and were all best of friends. THEY ARE TIGHT! You thought Mark, Don & Mel (and Craig) was the American Band? You should see these guys! From the boyish good looks of Tim on keyboards and the rugged, silky-smooth vocals of Max to the screaming licks of Bruce, together with Don and Mel...this band is the full package!

Some of my favorite parts of the concert were

Rolling Thunder - I hope they keep this as part of their set list. You have to see the fun they have banging this one out! I'm not sure what Mel's drum is called but he's smacking it pretty good. Tim comes off looking like another drummer on his Congas (I think they were Congas). Sorry my musical talent rests solely in my ears. ;-) I would like to see Bruce get more involved, maybe a background guitar instead of the tambourine, but he certainly gets ample time to shine throughout the rest of the show.

One More River - This is one of those where Max just lets it all hang out. What a voice he has! You can tell his heart is in this project. Another great vocal performance is during his Second Chance cut from 38 Special. With him and Don on vocals, there's some sweet sound coming through those mic's!

Inside Looking Out - Of course Don's signature solo is awesome! I love to watch him drum. BRUCE cuts loose on guitar and you wonder how he makes it looks so effortless. THIS MAN CAN JAM! I know everyone else has already commented on his talents, and I have to agree with everything they've said! KISS's loss is definitely our gain! I think Bruce helps give GFR the "edge" they've been looking for. Now for some new music to showcase this edge...

MEL !!! - I can't really single out a certain song, but Mel was all over the place all night long. I was hoping he'd wander over to my side of the stage a couple more times, but he pretty much stayed to Max's right. This is the 3rd time I've been fortunate enough to see this BAND live and I can easily say this is the first time I've seen Mel "alive" on stage. He truly looks like he's having fun and really getting into this 5-piece.

Tim, introduced as their one-man orchestra really knows his way around the keyboards. He nails CTH/IYC. This was one of the best renditions of this song I've heard EVER, both in concert and on CD. Like I said, this band is TIGHT!

DON - The backbone is still strong here. Don looks to be having the time of his life. I was close enough to see him appreciate his fellow band members during their solos and performances. I could tell he's happy with this lineup (hey, who wouldn't be?!). This being the second night in a row, you would think those big drum sticks would be getting heavy! HA! I saw him snap a set in two during SKOW ( I think JR has the set to prove it). He had to duck back and grab another stick while Max was belting out the vocals. I could go on and on about Don's drumming. He's such a pleasure to watch and listen to.

I'm sure there are other great parts of the concert but it's all starting to gel into one great dream. If they come even remotely close to your town, do what you can to see them. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.

I could have gone into more detail on their set but I'm pretty sure JR covered that and besides, he used up all the good expletives! I hope to display my front-row pics soon. I will let you know when the page is up. It was a borrowed digital camera, so unfortunately the pics are only 640x480 but they still look pretty good.

Following the concert, we RK/CF'rs regrouped, all smiles that say "they're baaaaaaaack!".

Now, it's the wait for the Meet & Greet ...

Following the concert, the 8 of us fellow RK/CF'rs gathered around with about 75 other people in anticipation of meeting our favorite band. Most were affiliated with the Casino, some had won the chance on radio shows and we were just lucky enough to be a part of Roadkill/CyberFunk.

While we were waiting, we saw Mel and Deanna walk near the stage towards someone who was obviously not having a good day. From the distance, we really couldn't tell if this person had been injured or was recovering from some trauma, but you could see bandages on his/her head. I'm sure it meant a lot to that person, cause it sure meant a lot to me just seeing their concern and appreciation for their fans.

A little later Sunny came out. I noticed drum sticks in her hand and wondered who would be lucky enough to get one. She gracefully made her way from table to table striking up conversations with people who I assume were her long-lost best friends from High School or something (just by the way they got along). It didn't seem to matter whom the person was, Sunny took them to heart and made them a family member. How special is that?! She didn't quite make it to our table, but I think she knew she would see us in line to meet the band...

The band came out, sat around a booth and the eager fans starting lining up for this great occasion. Our table was close to being the farthest away from their booth, so we sat and chatted awhile, waiting for the line to shorten. Finally, we gathered our things with hopes of having them signed and headed into the line. The line moved fairly quickly and before I knew it, I was next in line and Sunny was standing there looking at us. Nancy and I introduced ourselves (of course, I just said "Hi, I'm Craig. We've shared a couple emails recently" DUH! She was gracious, smiled and said, "The name sounds familiar". My wife tells her about my recent back surgery and she says, "Well, you better have one of these then" as she hands me a busted drum stick from the show! It was more of a lethal weapon that a drum stick, but I'll cherish it just the same. THANKS SUNNY!!

Next thing I knew, I was looking Don Brewer square in the face. Whatever it was that I had planned to say went right out the window. Damn, I hate when that happens! Anyway, we introduce ourselves, and while I'm shaking the mans hand, he says, "Hey, weren't you in the front row?" (To have Don Brewer recognize me from a crowd of 1000...oh man I wasn't going to make it thru this) "Yeah, that was me", I said with a HUGE smile on my face. "Well, how'd you like the show?". All I could muster at this point was, "IT WAS GREAT!" Don then remarks on my self-made CD from the Rockline interview. I had their promo group photo on the front cover and the pointing finger logo on the disc. On the inside it says, "Rockline January 31, 2001" (now it also has their sigs!!). I say something to the fact of, "yeah, it's one of your first recordings". When I started gathering my senses again, I did ask them if there was anything new in the works. Don said they were definitely working on new material and Max jumps in and says, "I just starting writing a new song today". I told them that I loved the Rolling Thunder song and they said Thanks and wanted to know if I'd seen the Jeff Daniels movie yet as part of the song is in there.

I also got to shake the hands of Tim Cashion who really looked like he was enjoying this as much as the fans and Max Carl whose smile just lights up the place. By the time I got to Mel (I had to wait awhile as we were directly behind JR! He finally started moving but not until Don yells, "Come on JR, you're holding up the line". It was great!) Anyway, words had left me by this time, so I just held out my hand to Mel and told him that he sounded great. That's all I had left for Bruce too although I did tell him that I got some great shots of him as we sat directly in front of his mic. I hope they all know that sometimes words just can't express your emotions.

It sure was a pleasure to meet this group of people. This will definitely go down as a day to remember and be thankful for forever. Thanks to everyone involved in getting us there...you are THE BEST !!

Respectfully submitted,

Craig good Clingan, good playin'