Ambrosia: Medina Entertainment Center Sept. 22, 2005
Tom DeLeeuw


Review By Tom DeLeeuw

Photos By Tom Deleeuw

CLICK ON PICTURES AT BOTTOM TO VIEW

From the moment I first felt the pipe organ rip through me listening to “Drink Of Water”, I was hooked on Ambrosia.  This goes back to 1975 and my freshman year at college in Marshall, MN, the days when kick ass component stereo systems were the ultimate status symbol on campus.  I still get goose bumps ‘tasting the water’.

For those not familiar with the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, Medina is a suburb on the northwestern fringe of Minneapolis.  That area of the metropolitan area had some severe weather move through the night before the show, which Joe alluded to at one point, saying, “When we got to the hotel, I knew that we should look for a basement.”  The storms did cause some considerable property damage in the region with heavy rains, high winds and even a small tornado, but it wasn’t in the immediate area of the show…and the show was on

The venue was the Medina Entertainment Center, a well-known establishment in the Twin Cities’ area.  Medina is about a 100-mile drive from my home near Rochester, MN.  When I arrived, to my pleasant surprise, I learned the show was going to be a fundraiser for victims of hurricane Katrina.  In place of an admission price, they were taking donations for hurricane relief “Operation Restore Hope”.  All money raised at the show was being matched by the Masonic Homes and given to the Salvation Army.  The benefit was a joint venture of Ambrosia and the opening band Aryastone.

I made sure that I arrived early, as I had been asked by Pat Boyette to record the show on my camcorder for a project he and Burliegh are planning to do with the Ambrosia web site.  So I wanted to make sure that I didn’t end up in some corner with no view.  I picked out the best spot I could find, and enjoyed a cold beer as I started getting ready for the show.  As I listened to Aryastone, I finally noticed a few of the Ambrosia members start wandering around, I immediately recognized Joe and Burliegh and suddenly became paralyzed with awe.  It seemed pretty childish to feel this way at my age, I mean, it wasn’t my first brush with greatness.  I once, while at work, walked right past, literally right next to Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash and barely batted an eye.  I would have loved to have gotten their autographs for my parents, but the Cash’s were guests at the hotel that I worked at and it was ‘not policy’ to allow employees to approach the guests for that type of purpose.  Anyway…

After I regained my composure, I went to meet the band.  They were hanging out in the lobby of the ballroom, (aka backstage) and were very gracious as I met them all.  I chatted with them as Aryastone finished their set, then it was time for the gang to get ready for the show.  I had to get set up myself

The Song Set

• Kid No More
• Nice, Nice, Very Nice
• You’re the Only Woman
• Mama Don’t Understand
• Let Me Down Slow
• Hopes & Dreams
• Somewhere I Never Travelled
• How Much I Feel
• Time Waits For No One
• Holdin’ On to Yesterday
• Magical Mystery Tour
• The Biggest Part of Me
• Life Beyond L.A.—Encore

Personal Highlights

• Hearing two unreleased songs from the band.  ‘Hopes & Dreams’ and ‘Let Me Down Slow’ were both fresh sounds for me and both were very well done.  I can’t wait to hear studio versions of these.
• Ken Stacy…when you hear the voice it gives you goose bumps.
• Burleigh and his plexiglass enclave.  Let me explain, the drum set on the stage had a surround around the drum set and Ken referred to it as his “plexiglass enclave”.  Burliegh called it a cage when he came out from behind the sound barrier to do “And”.  He normally does that standing and playing the drums but the low ceiling didn’t allow him enough room to stand.  He jokingly said, “C’mon, now I know I have a bad reputation…but a cage?”
• Meeting the one guy responsible for me learning to play the meanest dashboard piano in the country, Chris North.  He is truly unique, and very fun to watch performing.  I was actually worried for a moment that he wasn’t at the show, because he wasn’t hanging around backstage when I was with the band, but finally saw him as he came out on stage just before the show started.
• I felt an energy amongst the group, like they were in the beginning stages of doing something great together.  My thoughts as I drove home that night were that they were on to something very positive.  I didn’t even listen to any of their CD’s on the way home.  It would have spoiled the memory of the live show, the live sound and the energy that I took home that night.  It was the best ‘Drink of Water’ I’ve had.

The whole experience was amazing for me.  Ideally, it was what every concert should be.  Fans meeting the band and chatting about ‘nothing in particular’.  The band not having to hire security to keep raving lunatics from mobbing them.  In most of the reviews I’ve read, I’ve always heard how warm, gracious and appreciative the group is.  Anyone could be skeptical of that, and I was at first, until I met everyone.  It is true.  The whole group is so very appreciative of all of their fans.  Thank you to Joe, Burliegh, Chris, Doug, David, and Ken.
As I finish this up, I hear that Ambrosia is in the studio, when time permits, working on a new CD.  My hope is that the synergy I felt on that cool September night in Medina was a sign of what is to come.
Travellers rejoice
Tom DeLeeuw

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