Oct. 4, 2005 Sandia Amphitheater, Albuquerque, NM

by Percyful Girl
Well, I’m back from the long drive and I must say that after the amazing concert my best friend (of 30 years) and I saw last night made the drive easy as we are still on cloud 9 from that show!

The weather in NM was very warm and wonderful but we did experience a quick shower and some thunder and lightening just before Robert and SS were about to come on, so we had to sit and wait it out and it was terrible to think the concert had a chance of being cancelled! (Which is not cool after a 7.5 hour drive…) It cleared up and the sky was partly cloudy, but the stars were shining bright. We had 6th row and let me tell you, the view was so spectacular! Just the right angle and I had my eyes fixed on stage the entire time (except when the drunk dude behind me decided to throw up…). I wore my “Plant Specialist” tee proudly and I know that Robert could see it!

Robert did come on wearing light jeans and a black shirt with some sort of pattern of blue and white down the front. He is still clean shaven, but that beautiful smile of his cannot be contained! They started with Tin Pan Valley and the set list seemed to be that same as Enchanter’s review of the Wiltern minus No Quarter for the Encore. Robert sang so very beautifully and with much emotion. He apologized for taking so long to get back to Albuquerque, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind. They all received him and the band with much adoration and joy!

Robert is such a character!! He mentioned that the name ‘Albuquerque’ is a Moroccan name… Then he said, “Do you know what it means?” and he paused… then ran over to Justin, came back with a huge smile and said, “Oh, yeah, it means ‘Apricots’-I just learned that!” What a hoot! He gave us a little spanish and some great stories which is my favorite part of the show. My friend and I swear that after one of the songs was finished he said, “Super-Duper”, but the crowd was screaming so loud, we couldn’t understand… We thought it was funny!

Robert almost did a split on stage towards the end of the concert. I’m not sure what that was about, but the smile was priceless! He was just so into the music and as the music got lower, so did he! What a blast!

The band was so on! This concert is different from the Denver show and it was incredible! Robert had that harmonica going strong during Mighty ReArranger (be still my beating heart) and I thought that John was playing a bit of Zydeco music during Gallows Pole which was awesome!! What a nice medley of music and it’s wonderful how it seems that in each song, the band adds a bit of spice with some rock, african, blues, etc. Mighty ReArrangers indeed!

That drive was entirely worth it and I know that if Robert and SS return to the Sandia Ampitheater, I’ll be making the trek again without a second thought! I cannot thank Robert and SS enough for the spectacular concerts I’ve (we’ve) seen this year. They are absolutely remarkable and I don’t know how I’m going to be able to wait for the next CD and tour!