A Night Out

Last night, I met our middle daughter Elissa, (aka Jelly) in her new, home city of Charlotte, NC to see Steve Forbert play at The Stage Door.

I have been a fan of Steve’s music since 1978… my freshman year at Mt. St. Mary’s College and the year of he released his first LP, Alive on Arrival.

I have 24 CDs, three DVD’s, a signed harmonica and several T shirts, some dating back to the 1980’s.

I have never counted, but estimate I have seen Steve play approximately thirty times.

Last night was the first time I took one of our daughters to dinner and then a Forbert show and Steve did not let us down. Several of his standards with a few, lesser known or cover songs, all complemented by Steve’s on-stage presence and story telling.

Steve appeared to be really having fun and it was contagious. Elissa mentioned that she knew she was going to like the music, but it was Steve’s ability to connect with the audience that made it outstanding….along with spending an evening with the old man.

It was a special moment Jelly & I shared…especially when we had the opportunity to spend a few minutes with Steve after the show.

Elissa, Steve and me, after the show.

I had sent Steve an e-mail earlier in the week, asking if he would play “Tonight I Feel So Far Away From Home” This is from the first record and the first of many Forbert songs I learned to play on the guitar. It was a remarkably passionate verion of the song and was greatly appreciated by yours truly. My guess it was because of my request as I do not recall ever hearing him play it live and there are no live versions of the song on YouTube.

Thanks, Steve and I’m glad I brought one more fan into the pack. It will always be a specaial memory for me.

Yea, I ended up with only four and a half hours of sleep last night, but it was worth it.

Here is the song, studio version.