(You all know lizztmember Ellis Darby. Here are his notes on a recent concert and backstage meeting with the band. -PBZ) This is a "write-up" I sent a friend in Knoxville after last night's show. The Orpheum Main at Beale Street Memphis November 17, 1996 As we arrived and circum-navigated the block early in evening, I took note that there were but two eighteen wheelers behind the theater along with four buses. I think Frank must've been in a red bus that had disappeared before we got back outside after-after show. Two buses were waiting at the side entrance and the third was out back alongside the 2 trucks. Set list: 1) Under Pressure 2) Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings 3) Bad and Nationwide 4) Pincushion 5) Brown Sugar 6) What's Up with That 7) Party on the Patio 8) Vincent Price Blues 9) Stop Breakin' Down Blues 10) Heard It On The X 11) Rhythmeen 12) Bang Bang 13) Cheap Sunglasses then Pearly Gates look-a-like comes out for: 14) Just Got Paid the fuzzies come out for: 15) Legs Billy sez to "give the drummer some", Frank starts it up, you KNOW what's coming and they fire into: 16) Gimme All Your Lovin' 17) Sharped Dressed Man encore: (Frank finishing a sandwich (not a smoke) as he reappears behind drum set) 18) She's Just Killing Me - (a wholotta howling at the end from B & D AND the audience knows to join in - interesting 19) LaGrange 20) Tush encore: 21) Tube Snake Boogie 22) Jailhouse Rock My next seat ticket-mate, a musician and former garage band leader in Chattanooga, said he thought the on-stage hardware on Billy's left was a kind of tube based pre-amp that Billy had rigged for his guitars. I noted that he did go through motions a couple of times of making "adjustments" to the chrome "dials". The dog's head shaped item atop the device was said to be a Shure mike. I regret that I failed to ask BG about it later. I thought I counted 23 tunes - - I had to leave for trip to the head during "What's Up With That" and ran into a Memphis ZZ fan we met on the Recycler tour in Jackson MS. Anyway, I thought last night's show was just knocked down, jam up and jelly tight! So did the five who accompanied me. Marilyn opted out and stayed home. I had 6 tickets but no passes for the 2 "fan club" tix. The ones that a friend had reserved for me had after show passes so two of our party had to mill about while we 4 went back stage. Back stage was into a small reception room, actually back of stage and upstairs in the newly expanded "back-of-house" of the Orpheum where Billy was already holding forth with apprx 30 folks. We were the last to go back as one of our party had to hit the street for a cigarette "break-fast!" There were the same chips dips olives soft drinks and canned beer iced down for your choosing as in concerts past. Later, in the hallway next to a new freight elevator, I noted a cart laden with "real" looking catered food i.e. pies (some untouched, some half used), saran-wrapped meat trays, also half used etc. Interestingly, this elevator was above the rear of the stage so all of this stuff could have been lowered to the back-of-the-stage and hence available for consumption just prior to and during performance by act as well as tour personnel...who knows, but an interesting side light. In the room, after a couple of minutes of chipping, dipping, sipping and general milling about, Frank and Dusty and a few handlers came into the room. Frank came up to us and we chatted about our twin children, etc. Not being one for small talk, Frank hauled ass as soon as possible, i.e. an obilgatory swing into and out of the reception room. I only got a look at Dusty as he left while we talked with BG. The thickness of the lenses in Dusty's glasses always takes me by surprise. It wasn't long at all until Billy saw me and headed our way after just a few minutes into our arrival. I had told him [...] that we Robinsonville Blues Society reps (they were our entourage) wanted to update him on current activities and lay out plans for upcoming events. He greeted me and immediately told me that he would be back in the neighborhood in December and would get together. Looking forward to that! I have to admit that I was taken by the excitement of the moment and foundered a bit for conversation as I was taking in the Reverend's physical condition, the whitening of the red beard, his nasal speech intonations, etc. I told him about the South African videographer's tape and he got a kick out of that. Took a mental note from a recent ZZT internet mail-list posting by (Craneman) and asked him further about the African experience and that just turned him on to telling tales of going on safari type tours, visiting a cheetah preserve where high tech breeding had developed the "king cheetah" that was now getting close to getting off of the endangered list. A cheetah nipped Billy on the back of the knee, and in retreating from the peril, Billy ripped the leather jacket he was wearing on stage (showed us the damage). Said he had a leather repairer somewhere in Memphis that was going to work on it next month. (!) Billy's new cap appeared to be made of the same material out of which the old styled rope rugs were constructed. It was a muted green, not like the brown one in the South African video. Also with tongue planted in cheek, I apologized to Billy for my wife Marilyn's inexcuseable actions on the evening three years ago when Billy called to spend a few hours at our home [...]. One of our group heard Billy say [...] to hang around and he'd return shortly. I guess we hung around about 20 minutes after that point talking [...]. No return of Gibbons told us it was about time to mosey on so we did. [...] The dressing rooms were just down the hall, but I felt we'd leave well enough alone as Billy DID tell me they were going to leave for Nashville when they left the building. I also noted that Billy told Bob Levy and his teenage son that he'd be right back, as he was leaving the reception room. As we left, Bob and son were looking a bit antsy to get out of there. I called him this morning and they got to say "bye" as Billy passed in the hallway some time later. That HAD to be some time later because my group and I stayed about the premises another 15 minutes or so. As we approached the parking garage that we used next to the theater we saw the grill type gates had been closed! No telephone numbers or addresses to get assistance and we all were in agreement that the Suburban was going to sleep in Memphis last night, which it did. Rather than heading toward a Beale Street nightery (they're now open until 5AM!) we walked on down to The Peabody to "re-group" and plan our as yet uncertain return trip to Lake Cormorant, Hollywood, Tunica and Little Texas Mississippi. The Peabody lobby bar had closed, and we found refuge in a new spot across the street: a new downtown location of a popular burger/pub called Huey's. There we formulated a list of likely 2AM "Tunica taxi'ing" targets to telephone, and the first on the list agreed to get out of bed and do the deed. I got to bed at 3AM this morning and have been no good all day so I decided to get this out of the way before it was erased after tonight's much anticipated sleep! That's about the size of it. Later, (Ellis Darby, etwdarby@gmi.net)