DOLPH AT EDGEFEST!
(see? see? Friday Aug 8, 6pm!!! And it's spelled
right and everything!!!!!)
On 8th August, 1997, I had the pleasure of playing a 45-minute set at
the Edge Festival, a 4-day Christian event held at Stone Mountain Park,
east of Atlanta. I appeared at the "Higher Grounds Coffee House Stage",
a covered pavilion seating 40-50. Higher Grounds performances included
sets by Radio Flyer, Dime Store Prophets, Bill Mallonee of Vigilantes Of
Love, and Lee Bozeman of Luxury, as well as several lesser-known but talented
performers such as Friends Of Moses, the Joshua Generation, my pals Timothy's
Connection, and, uh, me, I guess. ;-)
For those of you initiated with my work, here's my set list for the
show, with comments:
- Dead Man
- I was nervous about leading off with a song that hadn't been tested
live, but what the hey. I figured there'd probably been plenty of quiet,
reflective, sensitive material played for this crowd already, so why not
jolt 'em awake a bit before getting to my own quiet stuff? I guess it worked,
despite the cruddy electric tone I had, which I fixed directly afterward.
- Flying Low Again
- Finishing "Dead Man," I called out "are you ready to
rawk???!!!" When the bunch (2/3 of which were friends & family)
cheered, I said, "well, um, sorry, 'cause we're not going to
rawk again for a few more songs yet." Then, I commenced this one.
I really wanted to yell "Hello Cleveland!" instead, but I chickened
out.
- Stupid Girl
- Another premiere performance, this song was only 4 days old at the
time of the show. It went over well, despite its meanness. Only my sister,
Wynelle, really laughed, but then only she had met the real-life prototypes
for the song.
- My Favorite Sin
- The only appropriate followup to snide bitterness (a la "Stupid
Girl") is confession.
- Let Me Lie
- I probably shouldn't have placed this right after "My Favorite
Sin" from a musical-pacing point of view, as it created a bit of a
lull in the set, but it made perfect sense lyrically. Often, it's immediately
after doing the right thing (i.e. recognizing and confessing, like in "My
Favorite Sin") that you feel the worst and the most like a failure,
so "Let Me Lie" fit that...
- My Crucifixion
- ...and linked straight into "My Crucifixion," its companion-piece.
"Let Me Lie" is a lyrical shock, and this one was a sonic shock
in the sedate coffeehouse environment.
- Bird
- This was also a premiere, and it turned out to be the best liked song
in the set, judging from people's comments afterward.
- Do The Fake
- A lot of people also enjoyed this one, which makes it a rarity -- a
song that's a favorite of mine and of my listeners.
- Scales
- "Scales" is one of those songs that, no matter how it's
received by a given audience, feels absolutely amazing to play. Still,
I should've gotten the guitar a bit quieter, I suppose -- but I just
couldn't help myself.
- Make Me A Baby
- I hadn't realized it until this concert, but one reason that "Scales"
and "Make Me A Baby" have become such an obvious ending combination
is that they're really two different ways of saying almost the same thing.
"Scales" says it in obscure words and wide swaths o' guitar,
while "Make Me A Baby" says it in simple language and quietness.
- Care Of Cell 44
- The Zombies' Odessey And Oracle is such a beautiful record,
and I do not tire of playing this, its lead-off track, in concert. If there's
a better musical picture of one person forgiving another unconditionally,
I haven't found it, and I certainly haven't written one yet.
More pictures:
Dolphmusic
Studio Dolphty-Four
The House O' Dolph
dchaney@oglethorpe.edu
