Donna's not ready to knit yet

Donna Jean & The Tricksters -- March 8, 2008
Fairfield Theatre Company, Fairfield, Connecticut

1st Set: Till The Morning Comes, All I Gotta Say, Moments Away,
Chain Of Fools, I Want To Tell You-> Jam->
Mission In The Rain-> No Better Way

Set 2: Spirit In The Sky-> Jam-> So Hard, Cassidy,
Travelin' Light-> Jam-> Ladybug, Arise->
Drums-> Samson & Delilah

Encore 1: Tore Up Over You
Encore 2: One More Saturday Night

There's no screaming. I just thought it necessary to get that out of the way. Donna's voice, without a single scream, sounds really nice all the way through!

I'm not sure this was the best show of theirs to post. Keyboardist Mookie Siegel was absent and since no one filled in, it feels like there's an instrument missing from the overall sound. Feels like? There is. The first song is clearly flat without him.

I'm also not sure about the original songs here by The Tricksters. They're okay but I'm not diggin' them a whole lot

The highlight of the first set is without a doubt the almost 11 minute Jam out of I Want To Tell You. It's really cool the way they go into Mission... but that not being Jerry (or even Weir with Ratdoggie Dogg) is a little strange. Jeff Mattson's lead guitar isn't bad and Donna's harmonies are beautiful, though.

Set 2 features more of the same -- some covers, some original tunes, and more bar band sound. That's where I'd bet it would be the funnest dancin' time for these guys. I don't think I'd pay to see them in a larger theater setting without beer and a bar. This is bar band music and it's not bad! I really like that you can tell Donna's having fun up there. She's singing in a rock and roll band. Hey, that's purty cool, ya know, y'all?! The jams work well in Set 2 as cool transitions. While I don't love the new tunes a whole bunch, So Hard has some nice room to play and the band sounds really good here. Mattson sounds a little too much like Jerry at times. I'd prefer he have his very own style.

Whoever the lead male vocalist is (Mattson?), he sounds too much like Bobby and the Cassidy duet with Donna is eerie. The song itself is quiet faithful to a Grateful Dead version. Well, afterall, these guys, without Donna, used to be a GD cover band. They still are, to a certain degree, so it makes sense to sound a lot like the Dead. Even if they are just a cover band, they can still kick ass like they do in Cassidy! A nice plateau they build up to before bringing the song back back to Earth for the last flight of the seabirds. Pretty nice.

Drums is very GD-like also before they ring out those oh-so-familiar first notes of Samson. The guitar at the beginning is completely reminiscent of Jerry Garcia. Freaky, almost. And then once again, the lead singer here sounds like Weir.

Encore numero uno, Tore Up, had me wanting Jerry (because of Mattson's guitar again) but I like this version with Donna singing. It's really cool and not a single scream to be found! That should've been the only encore or something else should have followed 'cause again we get the Weir-alike person singing Saturday Night. I don't mind hearing these songs by someone else but I'd prefer them to have a bit of their own sound rather than almost an imitation of a Grateful Dead version.

So why'd I listen to this? Why not. I'm open-minded and I wanted to hear what they sound like. And maybe this post will find its way into the ears of someone who was there and/or who'd also like to have a taste of Donna... I could backspace that out 'cause it sounds sexual, doesn't it? Anyway, you know what I mean. Enjoy!

Donna Jean & The Tricksters are @ Archive.org: but not this show (as of 3/8/09)

Audio Quality:

Download The Show Here Source/Lineage: Soundboard> PC> FLAC Part 1 - Tricksters - 3/8/08 3/8/08 - Tricksters - Part 2 Part 3

3-8-08 aka 03-08-08 aka 3/8/08 aka 03/08/08 aka 08-03-08 Fairfield Theater