This past Wednesday, I had a second opportunity to see Thomas Dolby in less than a year. This show was originally slated for Lambert's, but was subsequently moved to the Parish, because of strong ticket sales. Both places are small, intimate venues, so I was very encouraged that the sound would not be an issue this time, unlike the last.
I originally found out about this show, because I subscribed to his mailing list several years ago, when he reemerged with The Sole Inhabitant
tour, after almost 15 years away from the performance stage. In the interim, Thomas had moved to the Silicon Valley in the US, and launched a very successful Music/Technology company, Headspace, that had made the Beatnik plug-in for web browsers. In fact, wanting to work there, I had seriously contemplated trying to go have an interview Headspace, at one point.
About a month or so before the show, the mailing list had a message that if you replied with a copy of your ticket receipt, you would be put on a VIP list for an after the show Meet and Greet. So, of course I did that. In the end, it meant that I received a wristband, and was allowed to stay after the show and get an autograph. No pictures, though. (Not what I expected, but you get what you pay for ;)
The opener for the show was local, Austin band, Knifight. They sort
of fit with Dolby, although I didn't find them too engaging, to be honest. Dolby went on just before 10PM and played close to 2 full hours. His band was very good, and the sound was excellent. I was unable to find the names of the musicians, but do know that it was supposedly the first gig for his bass player, who was fantastic, none the less.
I made a vain attempt to capture the setlist, but I am not familiar enough with his material after 1984, to immediately identify some of the songs, in his catalog. He had explicitly asked the crowd after saying that it was the bass player's first gig, whether we wanted him to play it safe
or throw caution to the wind
and play what struck him at the moment. The crowd said to go for it, so I'm not sure how close it was to this setlist, from the night before, in Boulder. Clearly, at least one Boulder fan has their shit better together, than I do ;)
All and all, it was a great night of music. I left having an even greater appreciation for Thomas as a songwriter, after the night was concluded.
