.
Review Page for the Decatur Celebration
Paul Revere and the Raiders
Decatur, Illinois
Saturday, August 2, 2003
Two shows were scheduled for the Decatur
Celebration, at 6:45 pm and 10 pm, at the main stage at Franklin
and Eldorado Streets. I drove four hours to get to Decatur, and
the last two of those hours were filled with bad weather,
including two hailstorms, the second right about 4:00 as I was
pulling into Decatur. The thunderstorms and driving rain and even
some hail were pretty scary to drive through, and very depressing
as I had no idea what kind of stage setup there was... just that
it was an outdoor venue. I found the place where I was staying,
got prepared and left for the street celebration.
I got to the celebration area just to see people
picking up their lawn chairs and leaving.... word came through
that the 6:45 PM show had been cancelled. :( (And that was
about 6:00 PM.) The storm that I had experienced as I drove
in had occurred after everything had been set up and the Raiders
were JUST about to do soundcheck, and everything got
drenched. Apparently there was even a tornado right near
there (or at least so Paul said, later in the evening.) The
word being passed around the crowd was that they were going to
*try* and dry things out and then do the 10:00 show. Just
as I was walking up, they were disassembling everything...
carrying off the keyboards, drums and everything (it was a very
depressing sight!) They eventually took EVERYTHING but the
amplifiers off the stage and were mopping and toweldrying
everything.
It was not encouraging, particularly since people were saying the
storm front was supposed to come through again, but it wasn't
raining... so I set up my chair and left to find some fair
food. They did have the fried candy bars, but I passed
those up til I'd found what I was really looking for, which was
the fried twinkies. ;) These were done right... frozen,
dipped in batter and flash fried, it was really good! They
had an amazing amount/variety of food at the Celebration,
everything from shrimp on a stick to gyros, red beans and rice to
alligator on a stick. (The fried twinkie was on a stick
too!) There were lots of people here, wandering around the
carnival rides and commercial booths (some of which were not in
good shape after the thunderstorm, unfortunately), and lots of
families. People were smiling and friendly. And
though it wasn't sunny, it did not rain again.
It was interesting to sit and watch the Celebration people put
the stage back together. I don't usually get to watch a
setup like that and it's amazing how many connections there are
and how many things have to be tested. And how everything
is put together, and placed on the stage. I had a good time
talking with other PRR fans there, and there were a few people
that weren't big fans that I convinced to stick around for the
10:00 show... I assured them the show would be worth the
wait! (Some of them later admitted I was right and thanked
me for convincing them to stay.) I just love Raider fans, all of
them that I have had the good fortune to meet and talk to in the
various shows I've seen this year have been wonderfully friendly
and helpful...just like the band is!
The Raiders were all out on the stage at one point or another,
testing the setups and the instruments. I tried to
take some pictures but without the show lights, my flash just
couldn't cut it. :/
The weather kept threatening, it got all cloudy again and the
wind was blowing and it got cold! (I just don't think of
Midwest August nights and cold together.) I only had a
light jacket (but was better off than many in the crowd,
especially those who had intended to attend the first concert
only.) I was mainly afraid that it would rain again and the
whole thing would be called off. (The wind was that kind of
wind that can blow in a thunderstorm.) I huddled down in my
jacket on my folding chair and waited.
Finally it got to be 10:00, the lights went up and the show went
on! I was wondering if they were going to do their usual
"We're an American Band" start, because Mark Farner of
Grand Funk Railroad was scheduled to play the Celebration on
Sunday, August 3, 2003. They did not... it was interesting
to see them start with "Just Like Me". They did a bunch
of their hits, then started on RTTW songs. The guys seemed
to be in a good mood in spite of the weather and all the
complications... though there were comments about having to make
adjustments on things because they didn't get to do a sound
check. Paul was amazed and kept commenting on the lack of
bugs (perhaps that was a problem at the Wisconsin show, the night
before?) (Of course the wind was blowing too hard for there
to be bugs lol.) He said it was a good crowd. By the
time of the show, there were a lot of people crammed into the
stage area, I was really glad I'd gotten there early and set up
my chair in the third row. The crowd was responsive, and
appreciative. (Everyone laughed at Paul's jokes. ;))
They had to cut it off way too soon for me, apparently there was
some kind of noise ordinance curfew... they ended up playing
about an hour and fifteen minutes. The last songs were Born
to Be Wild, God Bless the USA [I stood up... so did the rest of
the crowd eventually] and the National Anthem [standing
again]. I really love their version of the National Anthem.
I was so glad I was able to see a show, I really needed that
RaiderFix! I also was able to take a lot of pictures, and I
was having fun taking them, too. (OK, I'll still complain
that they always put Danny right behind Paul so I can't get good
pics of him... and Omar is kind of hidden behind all those drums,
too...but I still think I got a few good pictures.)
There was a very long line for autographs, and it looked like the
RTTW tshirts, RTTW CDs and GHL CDs were selling well. As
always, the Raiders were gracious and friendly during the
signing. It was good to talk to them again. One of
the things that Paul said onstage, and also in the autograph line
in my hearing, is that he reads all of the comments that are
posted on the guestbook on the official Paul Revere and the
Raiders website. (See my homepage for a link to the official
site, and please post on their guestbook, I always do after I see
a show!) There were all kinds of complimentary posts about the
Decatur show!
This is my commentary from the Decatur show. I
hope you enjoyed it!
To Page 1 of pictures: Decatur Page 1
To Page 2 of pictures: Decatur Page 2
To Page 3 of pictures: Decatur Page 3
Thanks for visiting my Decatur show pages!
If you wish, I'd love to
hear your comments on my guestbook, located at my home page:
Kelpie's Paul Revere and the Raiders Home Page
or please feel free to contact me at
with any questions or comments about this webpage.
This page has been
accessed
times,
since it was moved to kelpierocks.com.
Page visited 155 times at the previous site.
Page last updated 08/17/2003.
Page revised for move to kelpierocks.com on 03/28/2006.
All pictures and text © 2003 by Kelpie.
Background image is the front of the Decatur CVB brochure
used without permission.