Donna the Buffalo at Lincoln Theatre

Hey All! The taper view: i’ve been in this classic comedy kinda mode so let’s continue. Remember in Animal House; Flounder is standing there with his briefcase full of 10,000 marbles. “Oh boy! This is gonna be great!” The bus rolled into Raleigh in the midst of a blizzard, Herd in from ALL OVER, & the same venue for 2 nights. This had all the earmarks of a classic Donna The Buffalo run. i love the Lincoln Theater. Nice room with a tiered floor. So sightlines are good, lots of dancin’ room, & a killer soundsystem. Now usually the Lincoln has the tapers on the 3rd tier just in front of the soundboard. i was allowed to set up on the 1st tier just up from the dance floor…YEAH BABY! i didn’t pace it off but i’m “guesstimating” i was no more than 16 ft. from the stage. Mark really had the magic flowin’. It sounded so freakin’ good in there. If i never made another recording i could take these 2 shows & proudly say “i did stuff like these” So when did i realize just how special this run was gonna be? Almost immediately actually. After the in-load Jordy & i were havin’ a beer, talkin’ with the Believers(the opening act) when i hear “an old familiar tune” Dave is soundcheckin’ his keyboards & playin’ Stella Blue. So i go out front & Dave’s playin’ & i see Jeb peering over the organ watchin’ the chord progressions, & HE STARTS PLAYIN” ALONG. i tried to be inconspicuous as i made my way to my gear. It was all i could do to keep from runnin & i’m thinkin’ to myself “please keep playin’”. The system tech from the Lincoln, Mark the soundman & myself were the only ones in the room originally, but now we have about a 4.5 minute Stella Blue Jam on disc 1 Craig Aspen & Cynthia Frazzini(The Believers) opened the nights festivities. If you’ve never seen this band do yourself a favor. Cynthia has 1 of the finest voices i’ve ever heard & the energy that this duo produces is amazing. The Donna The Buffalo setlist speaks for itself, LOUDLY. The Conscious Evolution has a Deadlike Caution Don’t Stop On Tracks soundl to the extended jam. Tara follows with a rare & beautiful I Wish You Love. The mid-set Me & Depression & a huge rollicking Jeb rarity, Story Of The Ages had the crowd dancin’ our asses off. Later in the set an impromptu Let It Snow had the crowd singin’ along & led right into yet another rarity, Spinning World. Too many highlights to list. Actually, this night & the next were 1 BIG highlight. For the encores we 1st got a beautiful Jeb solo performance of On Our Way On. Then the Believers joined the band onstage for a rollicking cover of Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues & finally a HUGE cover of the Beatles Helter Skelter. It was awesome. Like Godzilla goin’ through Tokyo. The crowd was definitely rewarded for braving the blizzard.