Dallas to Vegas
The tour bus left Dallas early on Monday, without me on it. I had a lecture to give for Travelocity, whose HQ is there. They’re having a series of interesting lunchtime speakers and contacted me asking if I’d talk about my dual careers in music and the tech world. In the event 400 people showed up and I talked for an hour and gave a demo of how I put songs together, singing two of them as a finale (see pic.)
The band and crew had made the long drive to Las Vegas, stopping over in Albuquerque. I flew direct, and arrived late last night. Checked into The Cannery, an outlying casino where our gig takes place tonight. As I drove up I spotted my name up in letters that must be 30 ft tall! They’re very friendly here and have a great club and sound system. I played Texas Hold’em last night for a couple of hours and had fun but lost. Saw Johnny Dekam getting into rolling craps.
The bus is scheduled to leave Vegas tonight at 4am. After our show I’d like to go check out Prince’s club at the Rio. Who knows, maybe he’ll be there. I have seen him play live about 8 times over the years, he’s truly one of the best performers of this generation, if not of all time. And once he actually came to see me play his old haunt First Avenue in Minneapolis! I’m not sure if it was ’84 or ’88, and for some reason that gig seems to be missing from StevieD’s tour history.
(Later) I’ll admit I felt like a complete dork standing in the street with my cellphone trying to get an angle on myself and the Cannery’s 40ft billboard. I can only imagine what passersby were saying…. hopefully only “Oh that guy must be soooo excited that people might mistake him for Thomas Dolby!”
Oh, and I played Hold’em again today and won $127! I am going to try to use it to take my band and crew out as it’s the end of the tour and the bus doesn’t leave till 3am (hmm this is getting earlier all the time…) Sadly Prince’s club has a private corporate party tonight, but maybe my friend Jonathan Deans who does the sound for all the Cirque Du Soleil shows can hook us up.
You played the First Avenue in ’84 or ’88? Holy crap – how did I miss that? Those years bookend my college time in Minnesota (back when my dorm room wall was covered with a giant poster of your head.) I will have to cut myself some slack and hope that gig was either just before I got there or right after I left (returning to the cultural black hole of my hometown…)
Prince used to roll up to the Haagen-Dazs on Grand Avenue in St. Paul and send his bodyguard in to get him ice cream for his limo ride home to Paisley Park. A friend of mine was the night manager there, and it amused us to see this big, burly guy come in and say, “Prince wants cookies ‘n’ cream.” I considered getting that printed on a t-shirt.
Enjoy Sin City!!
Here’s hoping that you and the guys pull out of Vegas without losing your shirts!
As for Prince, he is an amazing musician. His guitar work is some of the best I’ve seen in my lifetime. There are many times I’ve wondered if he isn’t channeling Jimi Hendrix himself.
Travel safe!
i attended the sabre/travelocity lecture. as a teen, i spent hours parked in front of MTV watching your videos. a very surreal experience when the artist gazes back. directly at me!
employee feedback was overwhelmingly positive. it made my day when you performed “scienceâ€. although “europa and the pirate twins†is always a favorite.
Thats Pretty weird, the ’88 and ’84 info is pretty conclusive, someone out there help me out?
Travel Safe and have a blast with these last 2 shows. I’d love it if some footage and or audio from this tour became available, any thoughts of podcasting or anything?? The Reviews are Killing me (that I didn’t get out for a show).
Cube Creature Caviar
Got my tickets around noon today. (I live about 5 minutes from the Cannery) It great to see you playing live again…especially since I have never seen you live. I’ve been listening to your music since 1980 or so…when I was a whole 9 years old! (Am I middle aged now?) Oh well. I still remember the first time I put your Flat Earth record on the record player. (I AM showing my age now.) The clarity of the sound in Dissidents is something that sticks with me. And somehow, when I was in my late teens, among the Metallica and Iron Maiden, Aliens Ate My Buick was in heavy rotation. I’ve always had weird tastes…give me some Steely Dan with my Beastie Boys, thank you. Some Prince with a side order of Gorillaz. Speaking of Prince, my god, what a prolific artist! One of my favorites. And I’ve only been turned on to his full catalog in the past few years. I never knew. And the fact that his newest albums are of the same caliber as they were 25 years ago attests to his depth and longevity. I would really love to see him live , but tickets to his shows are just sooooo expensive, like so many great albeit older bands.
I just saw Devo for the first time a few months back. (NOt quite as expensive as Prince…hehe) So worth every penny to see. You would have thought you were seeing them in 1983 again. They are another band (like you) that were so much more than the hit(s) that they had. So cutting edge, artistically and musically.
Anyway, looking forward to the show. I wish I would have known you were playing Texas Hold ‘Em last night. I would have walked down the street and played a few hands with you!
Just remember, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, team!
I just love that you can be as human as the rest of us and want a photo of yourself with your name in lights!
Scoobybri – Some say there is no such thing as coincedence. As I’m reading through the above posts my husband is playing Mr. DJ with his iTunes. At exactly the moment I read about Steely Dan in your post he put on Bodhisattva.
As to Prince, he’s marvelous. For the longest time my top three artists were TMDR (of course), Peter Gabriel, and Prince. I had hoped to see all three in concert and long ago gave up hope of seeing Thomas. Ironic that now the only artist of the three I haven’t seen is Prince and he’s the one I could probably see the easiest. Life is funny.
Good to see you popping your head in, Lunesse.
It’s cause while I am happy to be at home during this run of dates with lots to do, I have never been to Vegas and would love to go out and party with the crew. I miss them! =)
Could Thomas be the head of a new Vegas Rat Pack for the 21st century??
Steve and Edie and Thomas: live at the Mirage Lounge?!?!
You do have the right haircut to mix it up with the Blue Man Group…
Beech
I was at your presentation in Dallas ~ Thanks for being so gracious in sharing with us the path that led you to such innovative concepts! Also, a big thanks for the trip down memory lane you provided for those of us who were at home Saturday night waiting for the video on MTV
Wonderful show. Great multimedia presentation. The stories between songs were entertaining to say the least. The horns were terrific. (Horns in pop music have got to make a comeback!) My wife, who, while a Dolby fan, is not quite as hardcore as I, came away with this concert as her favorite of all time. I have to agree. The closing with Airwaves was perfect.
With that said, I came home with the intention of learning to play Airwaves. (I need something to jumpstart my music creativity. It’s been quite stagnant lately. Writers block I guess.) Anyway, intro and verse are easy enough. But I am having trouble picking out the progression of the chorus. There alot of layers in there. My ears are hearing Gm, Gbmaj, maybe Fm, Gbmaj, Abmaj, Bbmaj, something, something. I’m sure I’m totally wrong. Can any point me in the right direction? There doesn’t seem to be any sheet music out there for the song.
Anyway, thanks again for a great show and for that brief chat in the pizza place.
Brian
“Oh that guy must be soooo excited that people might mistake him for Thomas Dolby!â€
I’m betting you get that all the time.
Glad you got a proper marquee in Las Vegas, after the venue in Dallas bagged on getting your name up.
Sorry you didn’t get to see Prince out there in the desert. I’d gotten to see him during his Purple Rain tour two nights in a row… for free.
I managed to get a project, working on a storyboard for a music video for his group. Not a Prince video, but one for his protégés, Apollonia 6 (does anyone remember them?) Anyway it got me into the show two nights running, courtesy of Jerome. Got to go to the meeting room at the downtown Houston Four Seasons, where Prince was holed-up for six (6) sold-out shows. Talked with the architect who was working on Paisley Park. He showed me the architectural renderings & elevations. Saw the artist who did the cover for the upcoming “Around The World In A Day” cover bring his paintings in for review. Talk about a circus, that was it. But the shows were great & Sheila E. as opening act was incredible.
The music video ended up never being produced, as the gals in Apollonia 6 got into a huge fight a few days later & broke up.
So that’s my big brush with greatness in the music biz, other than getting to say hello to Thomas Dolby this past Sunday at the Dallas show.
Dr. W
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Scoobybri, contact me privately via the forum and I’ll get you hooked up with info about Airwaves. Glad everyone had a good time and I’m looking forward to the show in Fairfax tonight!
I’m inclined to think the First Ave gig was on the Flat Earth tour in early 84. I remember looking up from the stage (during White City, which was the opener for that tour) and seeing two huge bodyguards part the curtains to a small balcony area. In came His Purpleness. He stayed for maybe half the set then split. I hoped I didn’t disappoint him. Years later I met him at a premier. He smiled and whispered into my ear “You know I don’t believe all that shit Joni told me about you.” Ohhhh-kay!
so I went back and looked some more to find that when you played st. paul in ’06 2 people responded that they were at the show back in ’84 there. they responded in your blog about the john clese gps deal.
so calling Bugeyes, and Chucklove. let us know the date of that show in ’84
My first time at The Club, a lovely venue for a lovely show. Great setlist, would have been perfect if “I Love You, Good-bye” had been performed. Really tremendous seeing a true artist at work. Mafia Jazz Horns were GREAT! Not having my fill, immediately purchased the DVD and played it (sans intros) start to finish as soon as I got back home.
Only complaint about the DVD is this: where is the DTS/Dolby Digital 5.1? Where are the remasters of his work in SACD/DVD audio? Please, I’m so spoiled now after the pure mix of the live show!
Glad to hear somebody had a little luck at the tables at the Cannery….thanks Thomas for an incredible show!
I don’t believe in 5.1. I don’t feel there’s enough standardization of the way speakers are set up and their calibration. And if you can’t depend on being able to get a good mix when you spatialize the elements, you have to fall back on the lowest common denominator, which is basically stereo with a few non-crucial frills thrown into the surrounds. But my music does not have any non-crucial frills in it!
DVD audio is a possibility. EMI are planning to re-release my first two LPs and we may go that route. I’m interested to see how the remastered ‘Steve McQueen’ does this Spring.
“DVD audio is a possibility. EMI are planning to re-release my first
two LPs and we may go that route.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finally, re-releases!! That’s like a bloomin’ miracle! Thank you Thomas and EMI!!! What did you SAY to those EMI people, to make them see sense?!?!??!? 
Yes! Yes!! YES!!! 
Oh *wowwww*. Be still my fibrillating heart [and excited ears].
But I gotta wonder: with or without “SBMWS”? And with “Urges”,
{At the moment, can’t remember what the original track listing of “TGAoW” was, having never heard “TGAoW” in its
and “Leipzig”?? All of us loyal blogsters are probably wondering with bated breath…but you know we’ll all buy both re-releases anyway.
original vinyl glory. Note to self: search eBay. There was another
track as well, yes? Can’t think of its name, having never heard it…}
Ah-ha, so the remastered “Steve McQueen” is coming out this
Damn, I’ll
spring! I hadn’t heard. Thanks for the heads up!
bet that sounds goooooooood. Fantabulous, sir!!
Peace and music so good it flatlines your vital signs,
Kara the Kook!
“EMI are planning to re-release my first two LPs”
What would be nice is an “extended” version of The Golden Age Of Wireless, with all the tunes from that session on the CD.
What do you think, Flat Earthers?
.
Please, please, please seriously consider releasing the upcoming reissues in DVD-Audio!!!
Dear Thomas
How superb to see that all of your songs are as vivid as the day i first discovered your music. Even the your lirics still apply to today (windpower, hyperactivity..). I hope you’re encouraged to think of producing some new songs, becauce there’s lots of P.U.L.P. and it’s hiding in the airwaves of today!
Is the DVD out in Europa yet?
I certainly hope you won’t forget “Europa, my country” to houneur us with one of your great show’s.
Chris, the Netherlands
ARGH ARGH ARGH I just found out about this show TONIGHT, a few days too late. I hope TMDR will keep Las Vegas on the list for upcoming shows.
If the possibility of losing in poker scares you away from future dates, well, really, Thomas, we’ll spot you a few dollars.
Just please come back.
Just stumbled, clumsily, upon this site. Why’d you leave this on the floor?
I’ve always loved yer stuff, glad to find your blog and peer into your head.
Hey, was there any truth to the rumor that you were tentatively slated to play Moon in This Side of the Hill Players’ production of “The Real Inspector Hound” in Half Moon Bay in June of 1996? If so, well I’m glad you dropped out, ’cause the part ended up going to me!
I’d've rather met you though, now that I think about it.
Anyhow, glad to see you’re playing again! Make us another album willya, there’s a love.
Barry
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