Morgantown, WV 11-15-04

[tRANIS]

A show deserving of anyone who enjoys real music.
With the Fog backing up the .50 cal of Jay there was just an insane chemistry. I may get shot for this but I hope J uses these guys for awhile. Both the bass player and the drummer were "fucking" awesome. I would highly suggest that if you need your face peeled for any reason, attend a J and the Fog show soon.

I just cant say enough about all three of them last night.
And hey I got to hear the song I wanted to … Thumb.

Thanks for a blisstering show again J and come back soon

Todd
bass for Moon

[Samwise]

Uhm, who are "the Fog" these days?

[Annastefka]

My spouse taught me a lesson and that lesson is , What you have right now in front of you is the very best, and that is the way I have started to view life. One must believe that the best is now, not was, or has yet to come. So my answer is yes, this is the best "Fog" ever.

[King Tubby]

I saw them in Baltimore Sunday night, and it was a beautiful show. Even the jaded old scenesters were totally captivated, and my ears were singing like a flock of birds all day yesterday despite the fact that I wore high-quality earplugs. It was everything it should’ve been, and as someone who’s seen every incarnation of Dinosaur and the Fog (going back to the "Bug" tour) I can say confidently that J has finally found the band he’s been looking for. The feel of this group is looser than any other band J’s been involved with, but paradoxically the execution is tight and punchy as hell. I’m keeping my fingers crossed than he’ll record with them, too, as this group has a real magic about it. Great, great stuff.

[intodeep]

I really do enjoy the guys on this tour. I did not see a lot of the older performances so its hard for me to say, but they do seem to put on a great show.

[Jayne]

I vote yes as well.

For past Fog lineups I only have ’00 to compare to (I think that was the year- the tour with Mike Watt). Seeing this 2nd show last week with this lineup sealed the deal for me. I’m a bit bias here, but I’d like to think I’d admit it if it weren’t the case. These guys just fit together.

[tRANIS]

Well I guess my ignorance is well placed at any rate.
Since the 15th was only my second time seeing him (first was at Lollapolloza as Dinosaur Jr.) I didn’t realize that all the tour bands were the Fog. LOL

I have tried to find out info on the bass player but the drummer is from the Tom Collins Band.
Simply bad-ass

[Annastefka]

"tRANIS" wrote:

I have tried to find out info on the bass player Simply bad-ass

Doing an internet search will provide lots of information on Dave Schools. My husband really likes ‘Widespread Panic". When I moved to the back to the South from New York City, I thought I was too cool to enjoy a "Southern Rock Band" but time has mellowed me and the more I listen the more I like it, (WSP)

I still want to take my husband up on a bet, he says Dave is known by more people around the globe, I say J is. He wanted to do a "subway poll" to prove his point but I told him that ummmm doing a street or subway poll anywhere near Athens was going to be bit biased.

[brightEye]

"tRANIS" wrote:

Well I guess my ignorance is well placed at any rate.
Since the 15th was only my second time seeing him (first was at Lollapolloza as Dinosaur Jr.) I didn’t realize that all the tour bands were the Fog. LOL

I have tried to find out info on the bass player but the drummer is from the Tom Collins Band.
Simply bad-ass

The bass player is Dave Schools. He has been the bassist for the popular jam band Widespread Panic for almost 2 decades. I went to UGA 92-94 and that is where they are based. He was a kind of local celebrity I would see him out at the bars occassionally.

I had read somewhere about him teaming up with J, but I had obviously forgotten cuz I was shocked when the large man onstage turned around and it was Dave Schools! All I could think of was "when worlds collide" lol cuz I know how rabid WSP fans are and I know many will go to the shows just to see Dave. They are in for a shock if they are expecting southern-fried funky grooves! The WSP fans that I overheard were for the most part very complimentary of the show in Raleigh. I thought it was a nice way to expand their musical horizons a bit.

Mainly I was just extremely impressed by the chemistry these two talented musicians from different backgrounds and musical genres exhibited. Whats next Americans rocking out with Arabs?! I say hell yeah!

[Jayne]

I think southern rock is an oversimplified way to explain what WSP’s sound is like. They are southern and all, but they certainly don’t sound like LSkynard. And I don’t think jamband is a good way to characterize them either (even though they were the forerunners of that modern-day jamband genre). They do long guitar jams like J does, but I think they set themselves apart from most other jambands IMO. Mainly because there is more meat to the songs. The lyrics, for the most part, are actually well-thought out too and their former guitar player (who passed away in ’02) had an extremely original guitar sound, just like J. Both are up there in my books.

But labels tend to oversimplify things anyhow. And Dave’s a punk/classic rocker at heart anyway:)

I’ve been a WSP fan for 10 years and I’ve loved Dinosaur Jr. for about 12 years, and I became a big Tom Collins fan last year, so you can imagine my elation when the three got together this year. Many WSP fans who have seen this Fog tour aren’t used to music being that loud, many don’t even realize how influential J has been to music. But there are some that have loved it and thankfully, had the tapes rolling as well!

Either way, I’ve said this here before so sorry if you’ve seen this already, but if you really like Dave’s bass playing I strongly encourage you to check out some of his other projects. The one that I think most people here would like is his band Acetate. It’s a 3-piece band with a fantastic guitar player named Kevin Sweeney (who is doing sound for the Fog these 2 tours) and is an Athens legend in his own right. And the drummer is Ben Mize who used to be in the Counting Crowes. Together, this band does original garage rock that beats the hell out of anything you would hear in a buddy’s garage. They’ve done one album, it’s self-produced and it’s really, really good shit. They should be recording more in ’05.

Dave is in quite a few other bands as well. He just finished a tour with Stockholm Syndrome, a 5-piece with an amazing songwriter and great guitar player named Jerry Joseph out of Portland. One of my favorite other bands he’s in, who are kinda no more these days, is Brute. A band that was Vic Chesnutt backed musically by WSP. Brute was an incredible band.

If you want to know where to find these albums, drop me a line. The cliche about rock being dead is so far from wrong I tell ya. There is so much good music out there…I can’t contain myself.

Support live music, whatever it is you like!

[mountaingator]

I got to see the guys in Morgantown, WV and they really rocked. The drummer was great and I expect to hear and see more of him in years to come. Of course, the bassist, Dave Schools of Widespread Panic, was hot as always. I got to hang with some of the guys after the show and they are just as great personally as on stage. It was a night I’ll never forget. Thanks for being so hip, Dave!

[Annastefka]

"Jayne" wrote:

I think southern rock is an oversimplified way to explain what WSP’s sound is like.

Oh, I agree NOW, but when I first moved to Georgia and met my soon to be husband, that is how I felt. ( Although I have always secretly loved the Allman Brothers) I mean, Duane Allman, like Whats not to love?

[Author]

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