Passin' The Hat (Speedway Review)

Posted by BV

What a day! I am tired but have to post this. There will probably be reviews by other people who were there, but I had such a good time, I have to share.

To start the day, was sitting in the grandstands watching the races. You know, there is something sexy about those cars. Saw a couple of really good crashes right in front of me, including one with a really good fire ball. Luckily, it didn't appear that any of the drivers were hurt seriously. Don't ask me who won the races. I am sure Racergirl will have all the details. Speaking of Racergirl, I looked all over for a female type in a hawaiin shirt, no luck.

Well, on to the really fun stuff. After a serioulsy long walk to the infield (with some trecherous stairs) made it to the infield and the stage. Looked around for people, but since I didn't know what they were wearing or what they looked like, no luck. It was festival seating, so went to the left side of the stage (when you are facing it). Less people there, so was up close. There was latin music and Herb Albert before the show started (recorded that is). Then the West Side music started up. I was able to get up front, right in front of Roly.

The guys came out dressed in red suits with black inserts. Then Chris Isaak made his appearance, dressed in the blue velvet suit with silver stars on it. The guys looked and sounded great! Played a bunch of stuff from the different albums. Someone threw a Harley Davidson cap on the stage, Chris put it on. at one point, he drank water from his bottle, tilted his head back and spit! Said he was hot. The hat and he got drenched. Then he passed the hat on, went from one person to anther. The only person who didn't wear it was Kenney.

With the sun going down I got some great pictures. I shot 2 rolls, and wished I had brought more film, 'cause at one point Hershel was standing right in front of me. He wouldn't stop playing his guitar even though everyone else had stopped. The band memebers walked over to him, Chris tried tieing a scarf around the neck of the guitar, but Hershel keep playing. Kenney ran his drum stick across the guitar, but Hershel kept playing. They tied the scarf over his eyes, but he kept playing. Too funny! Speaking of jokes, Chris seems to have some that I had not heard before, including one where he asked the audience who was in a commited relationship 'cause he wanted to advoid them after the show.

They were in such a good mood that they ended up playing for over 1 hour 45 minutes! For an encore Kenney's snare drum was brought to the front of the stage. I believe they started with San Francisco Days, then went into Only the Lonely. Chris's voice sounded so good on that. Following that he gave a little speech about Johnny Cash being sick and how there are studies showing that prayers help people get better faster, so he wanted people to pray for Johnny when they got home. Played a Johnny Cash song at that point, then asked everyone if they wanted to hear a Donovan song. Wow! I believe the song title is "Forever to be Mine", and they did it justice. They finished up with "Gone Drivin'" and "Bonnie Bee". had a cute point when they had two little girls on stage with the dancers, and Chris asked one her name. She said Rhianna and he said "That's my middle name" while the guy at the keyboards played a bit from the Fleetwood Mac song.

Afterwards, souveniers and signings! Saw Lou, told him I had to tell him LC was great, he said "Yes, Landlord Chick is great". They were very buzy 'cause Chris was signing stuff right there. Only thing for sale was a tee-shirt made for the race. Has Isaak Racing on it. But I had something else for him to sign. He was moving fast, but when a little girl had a poster to sign (cover of Speak of the Devil which they were also selling) he drew horns on his head and told her I'm the devil (laughing of course). Then he showed her a handshake, the kind which involves different grips. I think she was stunned! He got to me, and I said that I had seen "Blue Ridge Fall" He stopped and asked me how it was, I said great. He asked how his accent held up, I said it sounded authentic. I told him I had the tickets from it and would he like one. He said sure, and seemed pleased. He put it in the back of those mirrored (large sequins actually) pants. Since it doesn't appear that he has pockets back there I can just wonder where that ticket went, hum.

To finish up this very long post, I have to say it was a very enjoyable and long day. What a deal for $35! Oh, and what did I have Chris sign? Well, it was that Harley hat. It was still wet when I got it :-)

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