Concert review of Ambrosia's concert at The Atlantis Casino

in Reno, NV  on February  13, 1999 by Bruce Vogel

I set out………...From San Jose to Reno, NV at 6:00 a.m. Friday, February 12,
1999 to attend the Ambrosia concert at the Atlantis Hotel Casino. I reserved a
ticket for the Saturday night show, had a room reserved at the glorious and
glamorous Vagabond Inn (no rooms available at the hotel), and a full tank of
Chevron Supreme with Techrolene.
Hey!!!! You want to go??? Come on, jump in, LETS DO IT !!!
OK, first put an Ambrosia CD or Tape in, you choose. Oh, great choice, SINT,
We’re off!

Boy, the four hour drive just flew by huh? Well, here we are, RENO!!! Lets do
some gambling and meet up tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. for the sound check, OK?
Later!

Saturday @ 4:00 – Hi! Lost a bundle huh? Well, that’s the way it goes. Lets go
up to the  Grand Ballroom and check out the Sound Check. I just saw a lady
walking by with a Remo bass drum head, so I’m sure they’re up there now
getting ready.

Here we are, look, there’s Burleigh setting up and replacing that drum head,
Hi Burleigh and Joe! Hi Chris! Look over there, that must be David Cutler
Lewis. I hadn’t met him yet so lets go over and introduce ourselves. Boy, he
sure is friendly and kind, can’t wait to hear him play tonight with the band.
Oh, and there’s Shem. I met him back in 1989 or so in San Jose, but I better
introduce myself again because it’s been a long time. Yup, just as I remember,
friendly as always.

Now, I need to start getting my pictures and notes for the Traveller's Danse
review, so your welcome to follow along. Hope you’re having fun. We’ll talk
again after I get my so-called "work" done.

ATLANTIS CASINO – February 13th, 1999



While the band was setting up, I was able to talk to some of the guys as to
what was going on with them individually. Although they were very busy, this
is what I could gather:

Joe Puerta – I had a sneak preview of the Les Lokey CD that Joe has worked
intensely  on over the last months. Les is a singer in Milwaukee that Joe
heard playing in a local club and felt she has the talent to "Go all the way".
The few cuts I heard while Ambrosia was setting up WAS GREAT!!! The CD, called
"Burned Up & Shining" is in it’s final tweaking and should be available in
about one month. GO visit the Les Lokey link from within Travellers Danse.
Folks, she’s FOR REAL. I loved what I heard so far and can’t wait to get the
CD!!

Burleigh Drummond – Continues with Tin Drum’s second CD recording. About half
of the tracks are recorded and he and Mary Harris and the gang plan to get
down to business again this month and make some progress. Between studio and
recording other musicians, and all the other obligations both professionally
and personally, time has been limited.

Christopher North – Went to the NAMM show recently and happened to see Keith
Emerson sitting right by him. Chris is busy doing a variety of things that we
were going to talk about later, but he was too busy at this time and I didn’t
get a chance to catch up on any further details.

David Pack – Saw him as he came in for sound check and asked about his solo
CD. He is involved with changing over to a different record label, so it
should be out sometime soon.

Shem – Is excited about his project and wants to get his Web page started. I
told him that Pat and Billie would be happy to supply a link to his URL as
soon as he’s ready.

Dave Lewis – As you know, Dave is involved with Joe’s Sunken City, occasional
Ambrosia appearances and his own projects.

Rich Rees, Manager – Juggling so many gigs, artists, venues, and logistics,
Rich fights to keep his head above water. But he’s a natural at it and I would
have him for a manager if I was in the business, hands down!

Nate the Great – Guitar Tech Extraordinare – Nate had just flow in from NYC
the night before and then onto Reno. He has a great work ethic, takes pride in
his job, and makes the show happen as much as anyone else. As in Rich, I would
have Nate the Great as my "Anything" Tech cause folks, they don’t call him
"Great" for nothing.

OK, I made the rounds, it’s all plugged in and now on with the sound check.
Dave P. was warming up with some Hendrix riffs and then on a new Yamaha
electric/acoustic guitar.
First there was some general jamming. I recognized some of the non-Ambrosia
tunes but had a hard time remembering the song names. The Ambrosia sound check
tunes included "Livin On My Own", "Biggest Part Of Me", "You’re the Only
Women", "Kid No More", and "Time Waits For No One".  Several problems arose
with Dave’s guitar amp and then with the general monitors and onstage mixing
sounds. The sound check lasted right up to 7:00 when the doors opened. I
started to go with Burleigh backstage and realized I better go back out front
to get a seat. I bid Burleigh good-bye until after the show and found a seat
in the first row. There I met Sandy and Phil Jamison of Santa Clara, located
near San Jose. We talked about their fondness of Ambrosia through the years.

Sandy and Phil Jamison

ANDA NOW, ON WIT DA SHOW!

Here is the song list:

Kid No More
Time Waits For No One
Living On My Own
You’re the Only Women (You & I)
Kamikaze
Nice, Nice Very Nice
Mama Don’t Understand
And
SINT
How Much I Feel
Angola
Hopes & Dreams
Life Beyond LA
Holdin’ On To Yesterday

Encore:
Biggest Part Of Me

My random thoughts during the concert:

Of course, Time Waits is always a grabber and makes me smile. As I looked
around at the crowd from my chair, I saw an elderly lady who had attended this
"Valentine’s Sweetheart" show. The look on her face during the progressive
tunes was to die for. I wished I could have read her mind. If I had it would
have been something like this:

"What the hell is all this hippie racket stuff being played? I thought they
were a "Love" band. Oh my God, it’s too loud! Oh, now that’s a nice song, I
like this one. OH NO, It’s that loud stuff again!!"

She left before the encore of "Biggest Part of Me", probably the only song she
came to listen to.

During Angola, Shem had a bass solo that was just AWESOME! He is one heck of a
musician. I could listen to him all day. I think my favorite "Change" is on
Life Beyond LA  with the unplugged version at the beginning and then jamming
into the original style later into the tune. Although I had previously  heard
the unplugged section in past concerts, It struck me more this time of how
really beautiful the lyrics are and the whole original intended mood that the
song is about. I actually felt lonely hearing it because I was by myself in
Reno and thought about the song in my hotel room.

NOW, Burleigh, Joe, Chris, Dave P., Dave L., and Shem were right on the mark.

Burleigh’s drums were crystal clear and, of course is my drumming hero.
Watching this man play sends shivers down my back with ever back beat. A
thought that I always have when I see Joe on stage is "What a natural". Talk
about stage appearance and being in his element, he was born to play on that
stage and he makes it look so easy. These are the marks of true talent and
greatness.

I love watching Chris on the B3 and he just cracks me up. I caught
myself laughing out loud a few times and amazed at his playing.
And, I finally got to hear Dave Lewis play and was impressed with his
contribution to the overall sound. It was then I recognized his place in
Ambrosia history when his parts rang a bell in the back of my head that, "Yea,
that was on the original album". Mr. Pack of course pleased the many Valentine
couples with his soulful songs that 85% of the crowd came to hear. Before the
concert, Chris said (like only Chris can) "Wait till they hear our progressive
stuff LOL)". Please reference said elderly lady mentioned earlier!

Nate the Great really had his hands full during the show, but he came through
and kept it together. And then Rich Rees, I could see his tension diminish
more and more after every song. By the end of the show he was wiped out
(tired). But, nothing a few drinks in the bar couldn’t handle later.

All in all, there’s not much more I can add about the concert that hasn’t
already been said in earlier reviews. JUST GREAT MUSIC!

End of Concert

Oh, Hi? How’d you like the concert? Pretty amazing huh? Come on, we’re meeting
them down at the bar. There’s Dave Lewis, and here comes Joe and Burleigh!
Hang tight while the guys sign autographs and talk to the fans. Later we’ll
have dinner at the Italian restaurant over there. Dinner with Burleigh, Joe,
and Dave Lewis was cool and it was nice when Chris came by for left overs.LOL.
Well, back for a night cap with Joe, Rich, and Nate.

Chris, Dave Lewis& CABS

Sunday Morning February 14, 1999

Burleigh, Joe and I were going to go to a mall so Burleigh could purchase a CD
and Joe was dying for breakfast. Since Burleigh already had room service, Joe
and I went to eat at Heidi’s and stuffed our selves.

Well, hate to say it, but it’s 1:30 and time to leave for home. The guys have
a sound check at 2:00 and if we stay for that, we may never leave! A last Good
Bye to Joe, Burleigh and Nate, and on our way we must go. Hope you enjoyed the
trip and this Ambrosia adventure. We MUST do this again very, very soon. Take
Care All!

A Note of Thanks:

I want to thank every member of the Ambrosia family for your graciousness and
allowing me access to do this review.  As I was told several times, both
expressed and implied, that I, too, am part of the Ambrosia family, and for
that I am eternally grateful.

Sincerely,
Cabs

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