I saw them Sat. night at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. I try and catch them every time they come around here. Definately one of my favorite bands. Dave LaRue is a phenomonal bassist. He nearly steals the show from Steve Morse. LaRue is one of the hardest working players also. You can see the concentration when he comes to a difficult passage, though at no time does he make it appear as he is struggling, just playing hard. Great group chemistry also.
I did think the sound was a little muddy as compared to other Dregs shows at the Coach I have seen, and LaRue was a little buried in the mix. Of course, it IS about Steve Morse, but Dave, Rod, T, and Jerry are all tops in there respective field. Steve probably wouldn't have it any other way. And can't forget Van Romaine (Steve Morse Band drummer).
On a side note, I did get the brief oppurtunity to meet the venerable Jerry Marotta, drummer extrordinaire for Peter Gabriel and many others. A real nice and regular guy who told me how when making Robert Fripp's Exposure album, Fripp told him, "just play a beat, any beat". Kinda cool. He was playing with Tom Griesgraber who is a master of the Chapman Stick. Pretty dang impressive.
Anyhow if you get the chance to see the Dixie Dregs, don't miss 'em. High energy rock/fusion/country/classical/uh, progressive/er, bluegrass/um, southern...(Defies categorization).
Clay
