Elizabeth, IN show Friday night Options

[Kathy Lorentzen]

Seems like nobody is posting concert reviews anymore. Though I rarely post here for reasons known to many of you, I hate to see the message board simply die out from lack of participation.

John and I went to two shows in March, at Soaring Eagle and then two nights later in Hammond, IN. We had great seats for both and backstage passes for Soaring Eagle. We smoked four slabs of baby back ribs for Vince and the band and took them to the MI concert, and they got great reviews two nights later!

Vince was still in a fair amount of pain from his back at these two shows, he sat down during the meet and greet and occasionally on stage. But the shows were great and pretty long, especially for casino shows. They didn't give him a time frame in Hammond and he loved the venue and the sound and he played for a long time.

Last Friday we drove to Louisville, KY to see Vince at Horseshoe, Elizabeth. We took more ribs and met Benny when we arrived so he could put them on the buses. We enjoyed a really revved up show by Vince and the band, it was a lovely outdoor venue and Hugh was able to mix the sound perfectly. Again we had down front and center seats, and Vince treated us to a rocking evening. It was obvious that he was feeling much better, he was really moving around on stage and had the old leg thing going like I hadn't seen in years. They gave him two hours to play and he used every second of it, no stories just mostly hot rocking songs. He played a brand new song that he wrote in honor of Billie Holliday, and it was a wonderful, bluesy song. Hopefully it will be on the next album.

After the show we again went to the meet and greet and discovered that we have finally found the way to Vince's heart...yes, straight through his stomach! We were both treated to big bear hugs in thanks for the ribs, which he had already devoured. I'm thinking that he's going to be expecting them every time he sees us-and we are happy to oblige whenever we can.

We had drinks with Benny after the meet and greet and he said that Vince is writing for a new album which will be recorded in 2010 and then in 2011 there will be a big tour in support of the album. He'll do some shows in 2010 but not a lot. But he did extend the retainers for the entire band and crew through 2011 so we'll have the treat of the same great band. Benny confirmed that Vince's back is much better and he's back out on the golf course nearly every day.

We also talked with Jeff White a bit before dinner and asked what he was up to and he said that he hoped to record another album at some point, but he isn't sure when.

We'll be having Vince withdrawal now, not going to the Wrigley Field show due to a conflict, but hoping to make the Palm Desert one in October.

Anybody lurking around here that attended any of the other four shows this weekend?