FILLMORE - San Francisco, California

December 15, 2005

It was great to finally be back at a Riders On The Storm show.  It's been way too long.  The show was sold out, so there were lots of people outside the venue trying to score tickets.  Fans were lined up on the sidewalk well in advance of the 7:00 opening of the doors.  My friend Beverly and I went to find dinner nearby and by the time we returned, the line extended way the heck down the sidewalk, and Fillmore security were trying to split people into four lines to go through the cursory body and bag searches.

Upon entering and ascending the staircase, fans were welcomed by the traditional basket of red apples as well as walls of beautiful framed Fillmore concert posters as far as the eye can see.  Inside the main room, huge evergreen wreaths and garlands hung from balcony boxes and around the walls.

The general admission crowd absolutely filled the room by the time O Fortuna began playing at 8:35, as did the sweet smell of marijuana.

The band filed out onto the stage, looking refreshed and enthusiastic about playing together again after a 3-month break for a jam-packed roomful of exuberant and appreciative fans.

Phil Chen was in dark pants and a green, navy and yellow shirt.   I saw him before the show, he was having fun with some friends and looking forward to the show.   Ty Dennis was in khaki pants, a white long-sleeve shirt and a black knit cap.  Ty has a brand new drum set, which he described to me as DWs in 'champagne sparkle' ... they were beautiful!!  Ray was in dark slacks and a dark jacket.  Robby was in dark slacks with a plaid button front shirt.   Ian looked trim and handsome in tight ripped jeans, a dark military jacket and sunglasses.  His hair had grown in from the short cut he had right before their break, but it was shorter than it had been earlier in the year.

Riders On The Storm opened the concert with Break On Through.   Ty was 'warmed up' and removed his knit cap for the second song,  Love Me Two Times.   The audience was going wild.  Ray told the crowd that it was good to be back in San Francisco, and reminisced about The Doors being in San Francisco and playing Fillmore Auditorium and the Human Be-In in January 1967, and being the opening act for the Rascals and Sopwith Camel.  Ray said they had opened with When The Music's Over, the next song they played.    Robby removed his plaid shirt to a short sleeved black shirt, and Ray also removed his dark jacket.  During the quiet portion of the song, Ian teased the crowd:  'Doesn't silence just fuck you up?"  

Ray began the band introductions.   Ian removed his sunglasses and jacket to reveal a black short-sleeve tee-shirt that read:  ANDY WARHOL FILMS, INC.  Alabama Song segued right into Back Door Man.   Ray said the next one was for all the people in power, the fascists.   Robby suggested:  "Ray For President."   A few more comments, and then into Five To One.

Ray introduced his brother Rick of Rick and the Ravens, who was on the side of the stage and part at of the road crew for this show:  Rick and the Ravens, where it all began!  Then Ray introduced the new song, Eagle In A Whirlpool, with lyrics by Michael McClure who was somewhere in the audience.   Man, I love this song!  Peace Frog was next.

A switch of guitars to Robby's custom Rick Turner and the appearance of two wood stools signaled what has been my favorite part of so many shows, even though it means Ty and Phil exit the stage for a few minutes.  With Ian and Robby sitting on the stools in front of Ray's keyboards, they performed Crystal Ship and People Are Strange.  As the stools and Ian left the stage, Ray remembered Bill Graham, Paul Rothchild and others before introducing rock & roll flamenco player Robby.  Alone on stage in the spotlight, Robby played a beautiful flamenco solo which eventually led into Spanish Caravan as all the band members returned.

Touch Me elicited a huge response from the audience.  Someone zigged when they should've zagged, and they stopped mid-song and re-started it.   During the instrumental section of L.A. Woman, it sounded to me like there was some double-time drumming getting tossed in there, which is probably not the right way to describe it.  Suffice it to say, it was different and innovative and very cool.  Ian said 'this is for Jim' going into the Mr Mojo Risin ... looking out over the crowd, there was a sea of arms skyward punching the air along with Ian.  Ian threw his tambourine off to the side of the stage where his son made a terrific catch.   I think even he was surprised!

It was 10:05 and the band left, to return to thunderous applause and cheers.   Robby was so energetic and animated all night long, and when returning to the stage for this first encore of Light My Fire, he was jumping around and having so much fun!   It's a joy to watch.

Robby spent some time playing with Phil while Ray took his solo, standing up and complete with right foot on those keys.  Robby went to the mike and called it the most famous keyboard solo in rock & roll, but then Ray responded with:  wait till you hear Robby's guitar solo.   Indeed!!  Robby included some of My Favorite Things in his solo.   The band all crouched down for the return to Ian's vocals and the climax of the song.   It was now 10:20 and they all lined up for sweeping bows.

Riders On The Storm were not off the hook yet, and returned to the stage for a second encore.   Robby was whipping his towel like a lasso before picking up his guitar for a beautifully rendered Riders On The Storm.  When the song ended and the band was exiting the stage, Ray said "thank you for Jim" ...  we thought that was the end, but the audience would have none of that!

The band returned to the stage for a third encore.  Ray said they were gonna do one more.   Ian asked rhetorically, "are you guys having a good time?"   Soul Kitchen would close out the night, just like in the old days.  Robby took center stage during the solo.  There was an extended 'learn to forget.'   It was so fun to watch them having so much fun onstage:  Robby was literally jumping in place with enthusiasm as he played, Ray was once again playing standing up, with his right foot on the keyboard.   Ian handed the tambourine to a young person right in front at the barrier, making very certain that it got to the right fan and not someone nearby with longer arms.   It was now 10:40 ... the band took more bows, Robby tossed water into the audience, and the jam-packed crowd finally began to disburse when the lights came up and music began playing.

What a terrific show ... a return to form, with a set that ran just over two hours long.   High energy from all the musicians, who were obviously so happy to be back on the road and playing the music together.   Even the support crew were in high spirits.  It was great to see Marco and Bob and Darren again, but we missed Artski and Owen who were not along for this one.

When I got a copy of the set list later, I saw that Roadhouse Blues was listed but was not included in the set this night.

There were one or two tee-shirts for sale featuring the new Riders On The Storm logo, along with Strange Days Festival shirts, LM2X tank tops and probably a few other miscellaneous items.

I understand that there were limited edition posters of the show being handed out as fans left, but we missed out on getting those.

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